DBRS Confirms Co-operators General Insurance Company at Pfd-3 (high), Trend Stable

DBRS Limited (DBRS) has today confirmed its ratings on the preferred shares of Co-operators General Insurance Company (the Company) at Pfd-3 (high) with a Stable trend. The Company is the cornerstone of The Co-operators Group (the Group), a co-operative financial services organization with complementary interests in life insurance and investment management.

The Co-operators Group, by tradition, has strong presence in rural markets and obtains excellent brand recognition. The property and casualty operations rank in the top six by premiums in Canada. The Group is making efforts to achieve client growth in Québec and is utilizing direct response marketing in Ontario and Alberta. The Group maintains conservative regulatory capital ratios, which supports the rating given the capital raising constraints of a cooperative.

The general insurance business has had difficulty keeping combined ratios at acceptable levels for the rating. The Company is looking at better segmentation to improve results and has been investing in technology and process improvement to achieve a better customer experience. Financial leverage is at reasonable level and supportive of the rating.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

The related regulatory disclosures pursuant to the National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations are hereby incorporated by reference and can be found by clicking on the link to the right under Related Research or by contacting us at info@dbrs.com.

The applicable methodologies are Rating Companies in the Canadian Property and Casualty Insurance Industry and Preferred Share and Hybrid Criteria for Corporate Issuers (Excluding Financial Institutions).

This rating is endorsed by DBRS Ratings Limited for use in the European Union.

DBRS will publish a full report shortly that will provide additional analytical detail on this rating action. If you are interested in receiving this report, contact us at info@dbrs.com