A.M. Best Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlook to Positive for RBC Life Insurance Company
A.M. Best has revised the outlook to positive from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and
affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a” of RBC Life Insurance Company
(RBC Life) (Mississauga, Ontario). The outlook of the FSR remains stable.
The positive outlook on the Long-Term ICR reflects the company’s strong risk-adjusted capitalization, improved earnings in core
business lines and the strong brand name recognition of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) [TSX and NYSE: RY] in the Canadian
market. RBC Life operates as the Canadian life insurance operation of its parent, RBC, under RBC Insurance, a division of RBC.
RBC Life maintains a favorable market position in Canada in the individual living benefits and group long-term disability
insurance markets. RBC Life also has maintained a focus on growing its individual and group life segments through increasing its
range of insurance product solutions and deepening client relationships. RBC Life has experienced increased sales of targeted
insurance products through continued expansion of wealth product offerings and the pension risk transfer business. A.M. Best
believes RBC will continue to support RBC Life’s growth initiatives, if needed, as it has demonstrated in the past.
Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the challenges RBC Life faces while positioning itself to increase market
share in Canada’s competitive individual life and group accident and sickness markets, as well as the challenges due to the
continued low interest rate environment. A.M. Best also notes that RBC Life maintains a modest position in the wealth management
market through its general account annuities, group annuities and segregated funds.
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.
Copyright © 2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
A.M. Best
Richard McMillan, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5615
Senior Financial Analyst
richard.mcmillan@ambest.com
or
Edward Kohlberg, +1-908-439-2200, ext. 5664
Associate Director
edward.kohlberg@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
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