AM Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the long-term issuer credit ratings of “a+” (Excellent) of Castle Harbour and Harrington Sound. Castle Harbour and Harrington are Bermuda-based captive insurers for oilfield services company Schlumberger Limited (SLB). Both are single-parent captives. AM Best assesses Castle Harbour and Harrington’s balance sheet strength as “strongest”. Their ratings also reflect a strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). Castle Harbour and Harrington maintain AM Best’s strongest rating of risk-adjusted capitalisation. The companies also display excellent liquidity measures. The rating agency acknowledges the financial flexibility afforded by SLB and the important role Castle Harbour and Harrington play in their parent company’s ERM. AM Best says: “The ratings also take into consideration the captives’ strategic importance in providing tailored insurance coverages for the parent and its subsidiaries. “Each [company] writes a broad scope of business and has considerable geographic diversification.” SLB’s ERM includes defined risk controls and optimisation of the captives’ capital.
