Gard has a strong competitive supported by significant barriers to entry. Through its ownership of Gard Marine&Energy Ltd. (Gard M&E), Gard is also one of the largest marine insurers globally. Favorable brand recognition supports its business risk profile. Strong capital and earnings is supported by its very strong risk-based capital (measured using our model) over the next three years. Gard has an intermediate risk position because, like most of its sector peers, it has material exposure to high-risk assets. It has strong financial flexibility based on its ability to make unbudgeted supplementary calls and impose significant premium increases for mutual business. Under our criteria, these factors lead to an anchor of either 'a-' or 'a'. We have used
