DBRS Confirms Intact Financial Corporation’s Rating of A (low), Stable Trends

DBRS Limited (DBRS) has today confirmed Intact Financial Corporation’s (Intact or the Company) Issuer Rating at A (low), Senior Unsecured Debt at A (low) and Non-Cumulative Preferred Shares at Pfd-2 (low). The trends are Stable.

The Company’s operating subsidiaries are among the strongest performers in the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry, achieving underwriting profits and obtaining above-industry return on capital results. The Company’s overall underwriting performance hinges on tightening benefits, reducing exposures, scale and analysis, which allows it to identify and price risks by mining its extensive database. Scale also enhances the ability of the Company to keep claims costs lower than those of its peer group and to more efficiently service its multi-channel distribution networks. Recent efforts to increase pricing in firmer commercial markets, to tighten benefits and to reduce earthquake exposures should improve the Company’s performance after three years of elevated catastrophic claims. An efficient capital structure keeps the Company’s overall financial leverage within bounds, and it has seen improving financial leverage ratios since 2011. There is a possibility of acquisition activity increasing the financial leverage if financed with debt.

DBRS calculates Intact’s annualized return on equity for the first nine months of 2014 to be 16.2%, a positive result benefiting from lower catastrophic claims so far this year compared with 2013 and generally improved underwriting results with higher premiums and reduced benefit obligations. The important Ontario auto insurance market, which comprises the largest segment of Intact’s business, is challenging with the provincial government’s desire to lower auto insurance premiums. To achieve the desired premium reductions, the industry is asking for a reduction in benefit costs and greater ability to discourage fraud.

Notes:
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.

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

The applicable methodologies are Rating Companies in the Canadian Property and Casualty Insurance Industry, Rating Holding Companies and Their Subsidiaries, and DBRS Criteria: Rating Preferred Share and Hybrid Criteria for Corporate Issuers, which can be found on our website under Methodologies