Fitch Assigns Infinity Insurance a ‘B-’ Insurer Financial Strength Rating with Stable Outlook

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Fitch Ratings has assigned a ‘B-’ Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating to the Uzbek insurance company Infinity Insurance JSC, with a stable outlook.

The rating reflects the company’s limited scale of operations, low capitalization, moderate profitability, and conservative investment strategy.

Infinity is a small player in Uzbekistan’s domestic insurance market. By the end of 2024, its market share reached 0.9%, up from 0.4% in 2023, placing it 19th among 28 operators in terms of gross premiums, which totaled 86 billion soums (approximately US$7 million).

The company’s main lines of business include property insurance, financial risk insurance, and motor vehicle insurance. Fitch notes that the high share of financial risk insurance contributes to volatility in financial results.

Capitalization remains weak due to the company’s small size and the need to meet increasingly stringent regulatory requirements. Regulatory capital adequacy rose from 101% at the end of 2023 to 160% at the end of 2024, and to 176% as of the first half of 2025. Under new regulations, the minimum capital requirement will be 80 billion soums from October 2025, 100 billion soums from October 2027, and 120 billion soums from October 2030.

In July 2025, Infinity raised additional capital, bringing it to 80.2 billion soums, ensuring compliance with the October 2025 requirement. Fitch expects the company’s capitalization to support growth, assuming stable profitability.

Financial results remain moderately positive, with a significant portion of profits derived from investment income. Return on equity (ROE) was 8% in 2024 and 4% in 2023. The combined ratio reached 119% under IFRS 17 and 125% under statutory reporting for 2024. In the first half of 2025, ROE was 10%, net profit 3.7 billion soums, and the combined ratio 120%. Fitch notes that profitability continues to rely heavily on investment income.

The company follows a conservative investment strategy, with 98% of assets held in bank deposits at state and private banks rated ‘BB’, and the remaining 2% invested in bonds of local banks rated ‘B+’, maturing in 2026. This approach ensures high liquidity.

Regarding reserving, Infinity uses simplified methods for financial risks, basing calculations on premium volumes, which increases frequency risk during economic downturns. Its developing actuarial capacity and basic reserving methodology create a risk of underestimating liabilities, typical for the local insurance sector.

Fitch notes that the rating could be downgraded if capital falls below minimum regulatory requirements or if the business profile weakens, for example, due to a significant increase in the share of financial risk insurance.

An upgrade is possible with sustained profit growth, a balanced product portfolio, and capitalization substantially above the minimum regulatory level.