FROM GROWTH TO RECOGNITION: MOODY’S ASSIGNS BCC LIFE A BA1 RATING WITH STABLE OUTLOOK

Almaty, 30 October 2026. International rating agency Moody’s Ratings has assigned BCC Life an insurance financial strength rating of Ba1 in both local and foreign currencies. The outlook on the ratings is stable.

Trust in the insurance business cannot be built on promises alone. It is underpinned by capital, investment strategy, the ability to meet obligations, and financial decisions that shape a company’s long-term resilience. These factors become particularly important when a young company enters the market and begins to steadily strengthen its position.

BCC Life was established in 2024. In a relatively short period of time, the company has built its own insurance business, begun expanding its product portfolio, and increased its presence in Kazakhstan’s life insurance market. The next important milestone in the company’s development was an independent assessment by Moody’s Ratings. Despite having been in the life insurance market for just over two years, BCC Life has been assigned an insurance financial strength rating of Ba1 in both local and foreign currencies, with a stable outlook.

For an insurance company, such a rating is more than just a letter designation on an international scale. It reflects an assessment based on an analysis of financial performance, asset composition, capital, liquidity, business model and risks associated with further growth. In the case of BCC Life, one of the key factors was the quality of its investment portfolio. In the insurance business, it is important not only to attract customers and collect premiums, but also to manage funds prudently, ensuring a sound financial foundation for future claims payments. According to Moody’s, as of 30 June 2026, fixed-income instruments accounted for approximately 86% of BCC Life’s invested assets. The majority of this portfolio consisted of securities issued by the Government of Kazakhstan and government-related entities.

Another indicator highlighted by the agency is capital adequacy. As of 1 July 2026, BCC Life’s regulatory solvency ratio stood at 3.17, against a minimum regulatory requirement of 1. In other words, the company’s ratio was more than three times the prescribed minimum.

Financial performance has also played a part in this story. At the end of 2025, BCC Life reported a net profit of KZT 838 million. Moody’s sees further growth in the business and investment income as key drivers of improved profitability, while noting that the company’s relatively short operating history does not yet allow for a full assessment of the sustainability of its performance under different market conditions.

“For our young insurance company, receiving an international rating from Moody’s marks an important milestone. Looking ahead, our priorities include further business development, strengthening our market position, and managing the growing demands associated with long-term insurance obligations. At the initial stage of development, performance is largely measured by growth rates and financial indicators. As the business scales up, a different priority comes to the fore: maintaining financial stability, asset quality, and the ability to meet our obligations to clients over the long term. These are the areas on which we intend to focus our efforts in the near future,” says Gulzhan Jaxymbetova, Chairperson of the Management Board of BCC Life.

According to Moody’s, BCC Life’s affiliation with Bank CenterCredit and its access to the Bank’s infrastructure and customer base provide the company with opportunities to scale up its business and develop comprehensive financial solutions for both individual and corporate clients.

BCC Life’s growing market presence is already reflected in the figures. According to the rating agency, the company’s share of total life insurance premiums in Kazakhstan increased from approximately 1.5% in 2025 to 2% in the first half of 2026. Further growth potential is also linked to the development of pension annuity products, one of the largest segments of Kazakhstan’s life insurance market.

However, growth in the insurance business brings not only new opportunities but also new obligations. The expansion of the pension annuity business increases the proportion of long-term guaranteed payments and places greater demands on capital and investment management, as well as on asset-liability matching. Moody’s specifically highlights these risks, along with BCC Life’s relatively short operating history and its still-developing market position.

It is therefore important to note that the assigned Ba1 rating falls within Moody’s speculative-grade category and is one notch below investment grade (Baa3). The stable outlook indicates that Moody’s expects BCC Life to maintain adequate capital levels, asset quality and high liquidity, while improving its profitability over the next 12–18 months.

The ratings assigned by Moody’s Ratings represent an important benchmark in assessing BCC Life’s financial strength and mark another milestone in the company’s development as a participant in Kazakhstan’s life insurance market.