Skip to main content

ASSURED GUARANTY LTD

For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Feb 28, 2024.

View on SEC.gov

About this filing

A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2023 · Filed Feb 28, 2024

AGO$73.93+0.2%Stored close · as of Nov 10, 2026

Extracted filing text, with the paragraph anchors used by the comparison.

See the whole filing, with its images and exhibits
Contents

Support of the European Insurance Subsidiaries

AGM and AGC (the U.S. Insurance Subsidiaries) provide support to the European Insurance Subsidiaries through reinsurance and other agreements.

Support of AGUK

AGM and AGUK implemented in 2011 a co-guarantee structure pursuant to which: (i) AGUK directly guarantees a specified portion of the public finance obligations issued in a particular transaction rather than guaranteeing 100% of the issued obligations; (ii) AGM directly guarantees the balance of the guaranteed public finance obligations; and (iii) AGM also provides a second-to-pay guarantee for AGUK’s portion of the guaranteed public finance obligations (Public Finance Co-Guarantee Structure). The co-guarantee split for public finance business, which has been in effect since October 2018, is 15% AGUK and 85% AGM.

Effective July 1, 2021, AGC and AGUK implemented a co-guarantee structure for non-public finance business that, other than the covered business, is identical to the AGM/AGUK Public Finance Co-Guarantee Structure (Non-Public Finance Co-Guarantee Structure). The co-guarantee split for non-public finance business is 15% AGUK and 85% AGC.

Separate and apart from the Public Finance Co-Guarantee Structure and the Non-Public Finance Co-Guarantee Structure, AGM provides support to AGUK through a quota share and excess of loss reinsurance agreement (Reinsurance Agreement) and a net worth maintenance agreement (Net Worth Agreement). Under the quota share cover of the Reinsurance Agreement, AGM reinsures approximately 95-99% of AGUK’s retention (after cessions to other reinsurers) of most of the outstanding financial guaranties that AGUK wrote prior to the implementation of the Public Finance Co-Guarantee Structure in 2011.

The quota share cover of the Reinsurance Agreement also obligates AGM to reinsure 85% of municipal, utility, project finance or infrastructure risks or similar business that AGUK writes from and after October 2018 without utilizing the co-guarantee structure. Currently, there is no such outstanding business at AGUK.

AGM secures its quota share reinsurance obligations to AGUK under the Reinsurance Agreement by posting collateral in trust equal to 102% of the sum of AGM’s assumed share of the following in respect of the reinsured AGUK policies: (i) AGUK’s unearned premium reserve (net of AGUK’s reinsurance premium payable to AGM); (ii) AGUK’s provisions for unpaid losses and allocated loss adjustment expenses (LAE) (net of any salvage recoverable); and (iii) any unexpired risk provisions of AGUK, in each case (i) - (iii) as calculated by AGUK in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice in the U.K. (UK GAAP).

Under the excess of loss cover of the Reinsurance Agreement, AGM is obligated to pay AGUK quarterly the amount (if any) by which (i) the sum of: (a) AGUK’s incurred losses, calculated in accordance with UK GAAP as reported by AGUK in its financial returns filed with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA); and (b) AGUK’s paid losses and LAE, in both cases net of all other performing reinsurance (including the reinsurance provided by AGM under the quota share cover of the Reinsurance Agreement), exceeds (ii) an amount equal to: (a) AGUK’s capital resources under U.K. law; minus (b) 110% of the greatest of the amounts as may be required by the PRA as a condition for maintaining AGUK’s authorization to carry on a financial guarantee business in the U.K. The purpose of this excess of loss cover is to ensure that AGUK maintains capital resources equal to at least 110% of the most stringent amount of capital that it may be required to maintain as a condition to carrying on a financial guarantee business in the U.K.

AGUK may terminate the Reinsurance Agreement (i.e., both its quota share and excess of loss covers) upon the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) AGM’s rating by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s) falls below “Aa3” or its rating by S&P Global Ratings, a division of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (S&P), falls below “AA-” (and AGM fails to restore such rating(s) within a prescribed period of time); (ii) AGM’s insolvency, failure to maintain the minimum capital required under the laws of AGM’s domiciliary jurisdiction, filing a petition in bankruptcy, going into liquidation or rehabilitation, or having a receiver appointed; or (iii) AGM’s failure to maintain its required collateral described above.

Under the Net Worth Agreement, AGM is obligated to make capital contributions to AGUK in amounts sufficient to ensure that AGUK maintains capital resources equal to 110% of the greatest of the amounts as may be required by the PRA as a condition of AGUK maintaining its authorization to carry on a financial guarantee business in the U.K., provided that such contributions: (i) do not exceed 35% of AGM’s policyholders’ surplus as determined by the laws of the State of New York; and (ii) are in compliance with a provision of the New York Insurance Law requiring notice to, or approval by, the New York State Department of Financial Services (the NYDFS) for transactions between affiliates that exceed certain thresholds. The Net Worth Agreement obligates AGM to provide AGUK with support similar to that which AGM also provides AGUK under the excess of loss cover of the Reinsurance Agreement, except the latter is meant to protect against erosion of AGUK’s capital resources due to insurance and/or reinsurance losses in AGUK’s insured portfolio, while the former is meant to protect against an erosion of AGUK’s capital resources for other reasons (e.g., poor investment performance or origination expenses exceeding premium). Given this purpose, the Net Worth Agreement clarifies that any amounts due thereunder must take into account all amounts paid, or reasonably expected to be paid, under the Reinsurance Agreement. The Net Worth Agreement also includes termination provisions substantially similar to those in the Reinsurance Agreement. AGM has never been required to make any contributions to AGUK’s capital under the current Net Worth Agreement.

Support of AGE

AGE has in place similar reinsurance and capital support agreements as are in place with AGUK.

AGM’s agreements with AGE generally apply to all AGE policies that insure public finance business in EEA jurisdictions. The agreements consist of:

(i) a quota share reinsurance agreement between AGE and AGM pursuant to which AGM provides the same reinsurance to AGE in respect of business that was transferred to AGE by AGUK effective October 1, 2020 pursuant to Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) (Part VII Transfer) as AGM provided to AGUK prior to such transfer (AGE also has similar agreements in effect with its affiliates, AGC and AG Re);

(ii) a second quota share reinsurance agreement whereby AGM provides AGE with 90% proportional reinsurance for:

a. certain business transferred to AGE pursuant to the Part VII Transfer that was not reinsured by AGM when such business was part of AGUK's insured portfolio;

b. certain business originally written by AGUK pursuant to the co-insurance arrangement described above, but which was novated to, and 100% guaranteed by, AGE in connection with the Part VII Transfer; and

c. any new public finance business written by AGE; and

(iii) an excess of loss reinsurance agreement, similar to the excess of loss cover of AGM’s Reinsurance Agreement with AGUK, pursuant to which AGM is obligated, effectively, to ensure that AGE maintains capital resources equal to at least 110% of the most stringent amount of capital that AGE may be required to maintain as a condition of it maintaining its authorization to carry on a financial guarantee business in France.

Effective July 1, 2021, AGC and AGE entered into a Non-Public Finance Business Reinsurance Agreement pursuant to which AGC provides AGE with 90% proportional reinsurance for any non-public finance business written by AGE.

AGM and AGC secure their quota share reinsurance obligations to AGE under the agreements described above by depositing collateral in accounts maintained by an EEA financial institution and pledging such accounts to AGE under French law. The measure of AGM’s and AGC’s required collateral for AGE is generally the same as the measure of AGM’s required collateral for AGUK, except that the former is determined in accordance with French (versus U.K.) GAAP.

AGM also has in place with AGE a net worth maintenance agreement that is similar to AGM’s Net Worth Agreement with AGUK - i.e., the former obligates AGM to ensure that AGE maintains capital resources at least equal to 110% of its most stringent capital requirement for maintaining its authorization to carry on a financial guarantee business in France.

Other Group Support of the European Insurance Subsidiaries for Certain Legacy Business

AGC and AG Re also provide reinsurance support to the European Insurance Subsidiaries for certain legacy business that was insured prior to 2009 by AGUK. Some of this business continues to reside at AGUK, while some of it was transferred to AGE in October 2020 pursuant to the Part VII Transfer. AG Re does not currently provide direct reinsurance support for new business being written by AGUK or AGE.

AGC and AG Re secure their reinsurance of this legacy business in essentially the same manner as AGM secures its reinsurance of the European Insurance Subsidiaries - i.e., AGC and AG Re pledge collateral equal to their assumed UK GAAP liabilities for AGUK and equal to their assumed French GAAP liabilities for AGE.

Insurance Acquisitions

The Company has acquired financial guaranty portfolios, including by acquiring legacy financial guarantors or acquiring (through reinsurance) substantial portions of their insured portfolios, and by commuting business that the Company had previously ceded prior to 2009 to various non-affiliated legacy financial guarantors and multiline reinsurers that were active in the financial guaranty reinsurance market. The Company also has periodically assumed, on a quota share basis, selected insured transactions from certain other legacy financial guarantors. The Company continues to investigate additional opportunities related to remaining legacy financial guaranty portfolios, but the number and size of the opportunities have decreased and there can be no assurance of whether or when the Company will find suitable opportunities on appropriate terms.

ContentsView on SEC.gov

The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.