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A.M. Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Intact Financial Corporation and Its Subsidiaries; Assigns Issue Credit Ratings

T.IFC | November 10, 2016

A.M. Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Intact Financial Corporation and Its Subsidiaries; Assigns Issue Credit Ratings

A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “aa-” of the members of Intact Insurance Group (Intact Group), which are Belair Insurance Company Inc. (Quebec), Intact Insurance Company, Novex Insurance Company, The Nordic Insurance Company of Canada, Trafalgar Insurance Company of Canada and Jevco Insurance Company, as well as its separately rated member, Intact Farm Insurance Inc. (IFI) (Quebec). All companies are domiciled in Ontario, unless otherwise specified.

Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “a-” and all Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) of the ultimate parent company, Intact Financial Corporation (IFC) [TSX: IFC]. The outlook of all of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Intact Group’s strong risk-adjusted capitalization, leading market position within the Canadian property/casualty insurance industry and its market access through multiple channels of distribution and geographic diversification. In addition, Intact Group continues to demonstrate its pricing and segmentation expertise and efficient claims management. The ratings also continue to benefit from the added financial flexibility of IFC, whose shares are listed and traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Partially offsetting these rating strengths are the challenges the organization faces given a trend of more frequent and severe storms across Canada and the strong competition for market share.

The ratings of Intact Group could benefit from a consistently favorable earnings trend that outperforms peers that adds to risk-adjusted capitalization. However, ratings and outlooks may come under negative pressure if an unfavorable earnings trend develops and capital erodes in a material manner.

The following Long-Term IRs have been assigned:

Intact Financial Corporation—

— “bbb” on CAD 39,874,900 non-cumulative floating rate Class A Series 4 preferred shares

— “bbb” on CAD 250 million, 4.2% non-cumulative five-year rate reset Class A Series 1 preferred shares

— “a-” on CAD 100 million, Series 3, 6.2% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due July 8, 2061

The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed:

Intact Financial Corporation—

— “a-” on CAD 250 million, Series 1, 5.41% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due Sept. 3, 2019

— “a-” on CAD 250 million, Series 2, 6.40% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due Nov. 23, 2039

— “a-” on CAD 300 million, Series 4, 4.70% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due Aug. 18, 2021

— “a-” on CAD 200 million, Series 5, 5.16% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due June 16, 2042

— “a-” on CAD 50 million, Series 5, 5.16% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due June 16, 2042

— “a-” on CAD 250 million, Series 6, 3.77% senior unsecured medium-term notes, due March 2, 2026

— “bbb” on CAD 210,125,100, 3.332% non-cumulative five-year rate reset Class A Series 3 preferred shares.

The following indicative Long-Term IRs under the shelf registration have been affirmed:

Intact Financial Corporation—

— “a-” on senior unsecured debt securities

— “bbb+” on subordinated unsecured debt securities

— “bbb” on Class A preferred shares (included in the CAD 3 billion preliminary short form base shelf prospectus).

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings.

A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

A.M. Best
Joel Silverthorn, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5120
Senior Financial Analyst
joel.silverthorn@ambest.com
or
Greg Williams, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5815
Senior Director
greg.williams@ambest.com
or
Christopher Sharkey, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5159
Manager, Public Relations
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com
or
Jim Peavy, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5644
Director, Public Relations
james.peavy@ambest.com