EL7.AI
StocksMedium•11 November 2026•
3 min read

S&P Raises Freedom Finance Insurance Rating to BB From BB-

Key Facts

1S&P raised the long-term rating from BB- to BB with a stable outlook.
2The company rose from 11th place to third in Kazakhstan’s general insurance market over the past four years.
3Market share increased from 2.1% to 9.7% over the past four years.
4Net profit was 9.1 billion tenge and return on equity was 27% in the first nine months of 2026.
5Capital reached 52 billion tenge in 2026, compared with 35 billion in the previous year.

S&P Global Ratings raised Freedom Finance Insurance’s long-term credit rating by one notch to BB from BB-, and maintained a stable outlook, according to coverage published by Kursiv on November 11, 2026. The decision reflects the company’s improved position in Kazakhstan’s general insurance market, the expansion of its business and its financial results. Over the past four years, the company rose from 11th place to third in the market. Its market share also increased from 2.1% to 9.7% over the same period, more than quadrupling. The agency said the subsidiary is of strategic importance to Freedom Holding Group and that its insurance business is consistent with the group’s long-term strategy to diversify its operations.

Results for the first nine months of 2026 showed signs of profitability and operational efficiency. The company posted net profit of 9.1 billion tenge, while return on equity reached 27%, according to figures cited by Kursiv. The combined ratio, which adds claims and expenses as a share of premiums, was 86.3% over the same period. This indicator provides a measure of how much claims and expenses consume of insurance premiums. These results came alongside an expanding market share and the company’s advance in the sector rankings, both of which form part of the context for the upgrade that the coverage attributed to the company’s improved position, business expansion and financial results.

The company’s capital rose to 52 billion tenge in 2026, compared with 35 billion in the previous year, according to Kursiv. The new level is equivalent to about $110 million, while capital stood at about $69 million a year earlier, according to figures cited in the coverage. Capital growth was a parallel development alongside improved results and business expansion, but the coverage did not present it as the sole reason for the upgrade. Its account of the decision cited a range of developments, including the company’s market position, business expansion and financial performance. S&P maintained a stable outlook alongside raising the rating to BB.

S&P raised the company’s long-term and financial strength ratings to BB- from B+ on November 7, 2024, with a stable outlook, according to an earlier filing by its parent company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The current upgrade marks another step in the rating trajectory, taking it from BB- to BB. In the parent company’s filing for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, Freedom Insurance had about 837,275 customers and 1,299,046 active policies. The filing also reported that the company’s assets stood at about $226.7 million at that date. The company recorded net profit of about $10.8 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026.

The parent company’s filing, citing data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan, said Freedom Insurance held about 6.55% of the local general insurance market by assets as of March 31, 2026. Its share of the motor vehicle owners’ liability insurance market was about 14.53% by premiums collected. The filing described the rating at the time as BB- with a stable outlook, alongside a national rating of kzA-. These figures refer to different categories and measures from the company’s 9.7% market share over the past four years cited by Kursiv. The current decision raises the long-term rating from BB- to BB, while maintaining the stable outlook.