West P&I Club has been assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- by Standard & Poor's, with a stable outlook, marking an upgrade from the BBB+ positive outlook the rating agency assigned the mutual in September 2025.
S&P attributed the upgrade to sustained improvement in West's underwriting performance, noting the Club has outperformed its International Group peers on several measures in recent years.
The agency also pointed to West's strengthened capital position, which it said is now underpinned by the surplus the Club holds at the 99.99% confidence level under S&P's capital model.
Tom Bowsher, group chief executive of West, said the improvement in the Club's technical performance had been building for some time.
"There has been a material improvement in West's technical performance and the year-ending 20 February 2026 was the fifth year in a row that the Club's combined ratio has been better than the average of our IG peers," Bowsher said. He added that the Club was pleased the progress had been independently recognised by S&P following a comprehensive rating review that considered both past and prospective performance.
The rating reflects results West disclosed earlier this year. The Club's combined ratio for 2025-26 came in at 98.0%, an improvement on the prior year's 103.9%, with own claims below expected levels and the Club's share of International Group Pool claims close to budget.
On a three-year average basis, the board's primary performance measure, the combined ratio stood at 98.8%, keeping West below its 100% target over a sustained period rather than a single strong year.
"This improved technical performance and recent favourable investment environment have driven the Club's Free Reserve to its highest ever level of USD 377m, and it is this increased Free Reserve that has enabled the Club to meet its target level under the S&P Global Ratings capital model," Bowsher said.
The free reserve represents a 23% increase on the previous year, supported by a 7.9% investment return that generated US$65 million, the Club's strongest investment result in more than a decade.
West's solvency coverage rose to 195% at 20 February 2026. For the year ending February 20, 2027, the Club is forecasting gross premium of approximately US$450 million across its diversified marine portfolio, building on gross earned premium of US$409.3 million in 2025-26, up 18% year-on-year, boosted in part by West's full acquisition of Nordic Marine Insurance in April 2025.
West's upgrade adds to a run of strong recent results among the UK's own International Group members. The London P&I Club, managed by A Bilbrough & Co and headquartered in London, closed its 2026 renewal season with mutual tonnage up 14.5% to 56.7 million gross tonnes, alongside its targeted premium increase and rising free reserves.
West's improved standing against the IG average reflects performance against a field that includes several UK-managed rivals, including the UK P&I Club, also reporting firmer capital positions this renewal cycle.
The upgrade also lands as UK-specific regulation reshapes cost and risk exposure for shipowners insured through London-market and IG mutuals. From July 1, 2026, the UK Emissions Trading Scheme extended to cover ships of 5,000 gross tonnes and above, with a further extension to offshore vessels of the same threshold due from January 1, 2027. The change requires affected vessels to report emissions and, in time, purchase allowances, adding a compliance and cost dimension that P&I clubs and their members are increasingly weighing at renewal.
Because Pool claims are shared across the International Group's 12 member clubs, which collectively provide liability cover for roughly 90% of the world's ocean-going tonnage, an individual club's combined ratio depends partly on the claims experience of its peers as well as its own book.
That is why S&P's comparison of West's performance against the IG average is a meaningful measure of underwriting discipline rather than simply favourable claims luck.
Taken together, the interactive ratings from both S&P and AM Best, which separately rates West A- (Excellent) with a stable outlook, put the Club on stronger footing than at points earlier in the decade, when its capital position and technical results lagged some larger clubs in the Group.
