Ratings withdrawn at request of firm after affirmation

Rating agency AM Best has withdrawn its ratings of Lloyd's insurer Hardy and its subsidiaries at the company's request.

AM Best had a financial stregth rating of A and an issuer credit rating of a+ assigned to Hardy Syndicate 382 and a bbb issuer credit rating on ultimate group holding company Hardy Underwriting Bermuda Limited, and Hardy Underwriting Group, the holding company for Hardy Underwriting Agencies, which in turn manages Syndicate 382.

AM Best affirmed all the ratings, which all had a stable outlook concurrently with withdrawing them.

According to AM Best, Hardy Bermuda is expected to maintain solid risk-adjusted capitalisation despite of the planned share buy back of up to 2.7 million common shares that was announced in December 2010 and above average catastrophe losses in the first quarter of 2011.

The losses include an estimated net loss of between £9m and £12m from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

The group’s earnings, which are driven by the performance of syndicate 382, deteriorated in 2010, largely due to a net loss of £37.2m attributable to the Chilean and New Zealand earthquakes and the hailstorms in Australia.

The catastrophe losses emanated primarily from the property treaty account, which focuses on non-US business. Strong underwriting performance from the group’s non-catastrophe-exposed accounts supported a pre-tax profit of £10m (2009: £20.1m).