OLDWICK, N.J., Month XX, 2023—AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” (Excellent) of Guardian Life of the Caribbean Limited (GLOC) and Guardian General Insurance Limited (GGIL). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb-” (Good) of Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) [TTSE: GHL], a publicly traded holding company and the parent of Guardian Life of The Caribbean Limited and Guardian General Insurance Limited. GHL is listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange. All companies are domiciled in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings of GLOC and GGIL reflect their balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as their strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The ratings of GHL acknowledge its consolidated balance sheet strength. The steady profitability and positive cash flows from GLOC, which is GHL’s core life insurance subsidiary, as well as GGIL and its non-rated operations in the Dutch Caribbean enhance GHL’s overall balance sheet strength and debt servicing capabilities. GHL’s parent, NCB Financial Group Limited (NCB), and its wholly owned subsidiary, NCB Global Holdings Limited, own a majority of the outstanding shares in GHL.

The ratings of GLOC acknowledge its strategic position within the GHL group, strong competitive position in the Trinidad and Tobago markets, consistently positive operating performance, its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and diversified business profile.

The ratings of GGIL acknowledge its leading regional market presence, long-term favorable operating performance, and its strategic position within the GHL group. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the challenging general insurance market conditions throughout the Caribbean and GGIL’s exposure to weather-related catastrophe events, which GGIL mitigates with it reinsurance program.

The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that GLOC and GGIL's balance sheet strength assessment will remain at the strongest level, supported by the strongest level of risk-adjusted capital, as measured by BCAR, and by the companies maintaining a strong level of operating performance over the intermediate term, as well as continued stabilizing economic conditions in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. AM Best will continue to monitor the economic conditions in the Caribbean region and take appropriate rating actions as conditions change.

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