Uganda’s Goldstar Insurance Company Awarded AA Credit Rating By GCR For Better Governance And Management

By Gad Masereka

Global Credit Rating (GCR), a South African rating firm, has elevated Uganda’s Goldstar Insurance Company Ltd.’s credit rating from A+ to AA, marking a significant two-level upgrade. This rating improvement, according to GCR, can be attributed to Goldstar’s enhanced management and governance practices.

The upgraded rating also reflects Goldstar’s attempts to comply with legal standards, such as the restructuring of its board of directors. In addition, GCR noted that the insurer’s “slightly improved business profile assessment” was due to its “intermediate competitive position.”

This declaration was made on Tuesday by Enock Mudadi, the Chief Operations Officer of Goldstar, highlighting the firm’s dedication to bringing its offerings up to par with international standards. Mudadi underlined that although Goldstar is a local insurance, they strive to offer services that adhere to norms that are accepted globally because some of their clients are international and regional businesses doing business in Uganda.

Mudadi added, “This is why we assessed ourselves against these global standards.” He emphasized that the company’s ability to meet insurance claims was confirmed by the enhanced rating, which local insurance firms frequently find difficult to uphold.

According to GCR’s evaluation, Goldstar showed “a strong financial profile,” highlighted by strong risk-adjusted capitalization and liquidity. They evaluated their earning capacity taking into account ongoing healthy net earnings and profitable underwriting.

Goldstar’s Chief Actuary, Jay Sakaria, revealed that the corporation is currently taking measures to inform Ugandans about important elements like credit ratings that they should take into account when buying insurance. The Ugandan insurance regulation does not require credit rating assessments, but Goldstar has voluntarily chosen to do them every year for the previous ten years.

This is absolutely voluntary, Sakaria emphasized. We decided to go through with it since we are confident in our capacity for strength and financial security. It’s how we prove to our clients that we are a reputable and dependable insurance provider.