Gard has a strong competitive position supported by significant barriers to entry in the protection and indemnity sector. Through its ownership of Gard Marine&Energy Ltd., Gard is also one of the largest marine insurers globally. Favorable brand recognition supports its business risk profile. Very strong risk-based capital adequacy (measured using our model) supports its strong capital and earnings. 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 its mutual business. Under our criteria, these factors lead to an anchor of either 'a-' or 'a'. We have used
