International rating agency, Standard & Poor has prized South Africa’s short term Insurer, Lion of Africa Insurance an A- national scale rating, reiterating  that the company’s operating performance is its key strength.

According to Business Live, S&P rated the company’s operating performance because of its key strength as it has benefited from a reasonable return on investment over the past three years.

This makes it the highest ranking South African short-term insurance company that is wholly run on black empowerment principles, CEO of Lion of Africa Insurance, Adam Samie said.

The rating agency said the company’s high status as a verified Level 1 contributor differentiates it from the competition and indicates that it has a supportive shareholder with the same empowerment ethos. It believes the Insurance company will continue to develop its competitive position both in new existing business line in South African while venturing further into the wider African market.

“The company has a prudent investment strategy. This is due to its portfolio which primarily focuses on liquid bonds and cash and limited exposure to equities, as well as having its capitalisation built on good capital adequacy and adequate reserves and reinsurance.”

To maintain its current status, S&P expects the company to maintain its capitalisation at a good level, with interest and coverage ratios maintained within current tolerances, in part because of good investments and liquidity.