Rating Release

Agusto & Co. affirms the ‘Aa-’ (long term) and ‘A1+’ (short term) rating assigned to Zenith General Insurance Company Limited, with a stable outlook. 

The rating expires on 30 June 2026. 

Agusto & Co. affirms the ‘Aa-’ (long term) and ‘A1+’ (short term) ratings assigned to Zenith General Insurance Company Limited (“ZGIC” or “the Underwriter” or “the Insurer”), supported by the Underwriter’s good profitability which has bolstered capital base above the regulatory minimum in the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act. We considered the good liquidity profile driven by the dominance of money market instruments in the investment portfolio. Also supporting the assigned rating is the good insurance service margin upheld by prudent underwriting standards and bancassurance partnership with Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s second-largest commercial bank by total assets, with over 500 branches. However, constraining the assigned rating are the rising operating costs, the dominance of volatile and unsustainable foreign exchange gains in investment income, and the impact of prevailing macroeconomic headwinds on Nigerian businesses.