//BestWire// – AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of Partners Life Limited (Partners Life) (New Zealand). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect Partners Life’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also incorporate rating enhancement from Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (Dai-ichi) [TSE: 8750].
Partners Life’s balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which is expected to remain at the strongest level over the medium term, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best also assesses the insurer as having strong financial flexibility and a conservative investment strategy. A partially offsetting balance sheet strength factor is Partners Life’s reliance on third-party reinsurance for risk transfer and upfront commission financing.
AM Best assesses Partners Life’s operating performance as adequate. The company has a track record of positive earnings, driven by underwriting profits of its in-force life insurance portfolio. In addition, Partners Life benefits from consistently positive investment returns over the last five years as a result of its conservative investment strategy. The company’s return-on-equity ratio improved significantly from -2.0% in fiscal-year (FY) 2024 to 7.2% in FY 2025, primarily due to more favourable insurance service results. Despite experiencing some volatility in operating earnings in recent years, AM Best expects the company’s performance metrics to stabilise and remain supportive of the adequate assessment over the medium term.
Partners Life ranks among the largest life insurance companies in New Zealand. Partners Life distributes its products predominantly through a large network of independent financial advisers, as well as through the referral of Bank of New Zealand customers, under an exclusive agreement with the bank as part of the BNZ Life Insurance Limited acquisition.
The rating enhancement reflects integration with and ownership by Dai-ichi, one of the largest life insurance groups in Japan. In addition, AM Best expects Dai-ichi to provide capital support to Partners Life in the event that the company is unable to maintain an appropriate level of capital adequacy. While Partners Life accounts for a small portion of Dai-ichi’s overall revenues and earnings, the company is viewed to be strategically important to the organisation as it notably expands its presence in New Zealand.
Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM 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 AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings (BCR), Best’s Performance Assessments (PA), Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments (PCA) and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.
