S&P has assigned a long-term financial strength rating of ‘AA-’ to Singapore Reinsurance Corp. Ltd. (Sing Re), with a stable outlook. The outlook is linked to guarantor Odyssey Reinsurance Co. and aligned with that of ultimate parent Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.
The rating is anchored in an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee from Odyssey Reinsurance for “the due and punctual performance of all present and future re/insurance obligations of Sing Re.”
S&P said it equalizes Sing Re’s financial strength rating with that of Odyssey Reinsurance, its Connecticut-based sister company rated ‘AA-/Stable/--’. The agency views the guarantee as a direct credit link that effectively transfers Odyssey’s credit profile to Sing Re’s re/insurance obligations.
According to S&P, the guarantee ensures the timely payment of all existing and future re/insurance liabilities of Sing Re and can be enforced directly by Sing Re’s policyholders. The protection “exclusively covers the re/insurance obligations of Sing Re’s policyholders” and ranks side by side with Odyssey Reinsurance’s senior unsecured obligations.
Odyssey Reinsurance is regarded by S&P as a core subsidiary of Odyssey Group Holdings Inc., which sits under Fairfax Financial Holdings, rated ‘A-/Stable/--’. Both Odyssey Reinsurance and Sing Re operate as affiliated entities within the Fairfax group structure.
Earlier in the year, AM Best has affirmed Sing Re’s financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and long-term ICR of “a,” pointing to risk-adjusted capitalization expected to remain at the strongest level and an investment portfolio concentrated in cash, deposits, and fixed-income securities.
Sing Re, incorporated in 1973, writes general property and casualty reinsurance across Asia. In 2024, the company reported gross premiums written of $312 million and net premiums written of $161 million, representing less than 1% of Fairfax Financial Holdings’ total premiums.
Sing Re is also building out its regional platform under Fairfax as Asian cedents seek more options for capacity. The company has secured a reinsurance branch license in India’s GIFT City under a Category-2 regime that allows it to write P&C business.
That move reflects a broader pattern among Asian reinsurers, which AM Best says are expanding abroad to diversify earnings as growth slows in China and mature North Asian markets.
Reinsurers based in Singapore and across South and Southeast Asia are reporting returns near historic highs while increasingly using overseas platforms and alternative capital to balance regional headwinds.
