<div id="readability-page-1"><div>Fitch Ratings-Hong Kong-10 November 2025:Fitch Ratings has assigned Australia-based QBE Insurance Group Limited's (A/Stable) USD300 million regulatory compliant Tier 2 subordinated securities a 'BBB+' rating. The securities have been issued through QBE's note issuance programme and are its direct, unsecured and subordinated obligations.The notes have a term of 12 years with a fixed annual coupon rate of 5.239% paid semi-annually in arrears up until 10 November 2032. The interest rate will be reset on that date and will be equal to the five-year US Treasury bond rate plus 1.35% per annum. The notes are callable on the interest payment date falling on or nearest to 10 November 2032.Redemption will be subject to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's (APRA) written approval. The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes within the group.Key Rating DriversThe subordinated notes are rated two notches below QBE's Issuer Default Rating (IDR), comprising two notches for 'Poor' baseline recoveries and zero for 'Minimal' non-performance risk.The notching for 'Poor' recoveries reflects our assumptions for subordinated debt issued at a holding company as per our criteria. Should the company be wound up, the issuer's payment obligations under the securities rank behind all senior creditors, but ahead of ordinary shares and additional Tier 1 (AT1) securities.The notes do not allow QBE to defer interest payments at its discretion. The notes would convert to equity in part or in full should APRA deem that QBE would become non-viable without conversion or a public-sector capital injection. The notes would be written off in part or in full were QBE unable to convert the notes to equity within five business days of the trigger event date. Fitch believes APRA is unlikely to activate the non-viability trigger unless the event is sustained and would lead to QBE's non-viability.We associate the above features with having 'Minimal' non-performance risk and have therefore not applied additional notching as per our criteria.QBE has obtained APRA's approval for the issuance to qualify as Tier 2 capital for regulatory capital purposes. The notes receive 100% equity credit in Fitch's Prism Global model due to the application of the agency's regulatory override, subject to 100% regulatory capital recognition. However, the notes are treated as 100% debt in Fitch's financial-leverage ratio calculation because they are a dated instrument.Fitch expects the financial-leverage ratio (end-1H25: 25.1%) to remain broadly stable on a pro forma basis after the securities' issue and also considering the planned redemption of QBE's outstanding USD300 million Tier 2 notes that are redeemable on 12 November 2025.QBE's gross written premiums increased by 6% to USD13.8 billion in 1H25, while profit after tax rose by 28% to USD1,022 million, supported by higher net investment income and a strong insurance service result. The combined ratio improved to 90.1% from 91.1% in 1H24, aided by favourable prior year reserve development and lower catastrophe losses. The Fitch-calculated financial-leverage ratio rose to 25.1% by end-1H25 (19.8% at end-2024), driven by the issuance of Tier 2 securities and redemption of USD886 million of AT1 securities. Prescribed capital amount coverage remained robust at 1.85x.RATING SENSITIVITIES Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Negative Rating Action/DowngradeThe rating on the securities will move in tandem with QBE's IDR.-- A sustained deterioration in financial performance, with return on equity consistently below 9%.- Weaker capitalisation and leverage metrics, with Prism score below 'Very Strong' and financial leverage ratio above 31%.Factors that Could, Individually or Collectively, Lead to Positive Rating Action/Upgrade-- A sustained improvement in the company profile, including a larger operating scale and continued improvement in the group's overall business risk.Date of Relevant Committee 18-Jun-2025 REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria. ESG ConsiderationsThe highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit https://www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products#esg-relevance-scores.QBE Insurance Group Limited----subordinated; Long Term Rating; New Rating; BBB+Contacts:Primary Rating AnalystTerrence Wong,Senior Director+852 2263 9920terrence.wong@fitchratings.comFitch (Hong Kong) Limited19/F Man Yee Building 60-68 Des Voeux Road CentralHong KongSecondary Rating AnalystJeffrey Liew,Senior Director+852 2263 9939jeffrey.liew@fitchratings.comCommittee ChairpersonStella Ng,Senior Director+852 2263 9615stella.ng@fitchratings.comMEDIA RELATIONS: Peter Hoflich, Singapore, Tel: +65 6796 7229, Email: peter.hoflich@thefitchgroup.comVivian Kam, Hong Kong, Tel: +852 2263 9612, Email: vivian.kam@thefitchgroup.comAdditional information is available on www.fitchratings.comApplicable ModelNumbers in parentheses accompanying applicable model(s) contain hyperlinks to criteria providing description of model(s).Prism Global (ex-U.S.) Model, v1.8.1 (1)ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURESSolicitation StatusAdditional Disclosures For Unsolicited Credit RatingsEndorsement StatusEndorsement PolicyALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. 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QBIEY

Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'BBB+' rating to QBE Insurance Group's USD300 million Tier 2 subordinated securities. The notes, with a 12-year term and a fixed annual coupon rate of 5.239%, are callable after 10 November 2032. The rating reflects QBE's financial performance, including a 6% increase in gross written premiums and a 28% rise in profit after tax in 1H25. The financial-leverage ratio is expected to remain stable post-issuance. The rating may be affected by changes in QBE's financial performance and capital metrics.

Fitch Rates QBE Insurance's USD300 Million Subordinated Tier 2 Notes 'BBB+'