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Insurance ratings actions: A.M. Best upgrades RBC Life Insurance long-term ICR

S&P Global Market Intelligence compiles ratings actions in the insurance space daily through 5:30 p.m. ET. Actions after 5:30 p.m. ET will be included in the following day's roundup.

Life and health

A.M. Best has upgraded the long-term issuer credit rating to "a+" from "a" and affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) of RBC Life Insurance Co.

The outlook of the long-term issuer credit rating has been revised to stable from positive, while the outlook of the financial strength rating remains stable.

The ratings reflect RBC Life's strongest balance sheet strength, its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management, A.M. Best said.

The rating upgrade also reflects significant growth of capital and surplus, and support from its ultimate parent, Royal Bank of Canada.

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A.M. Best has removed from under review with developing implications and affirmed the financial strength ratings of B++ (Good) and the long-term issuer credit ratings of "bbb+" of Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Co. and Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Co. of New York.

At the same time, A.M. Best has removed from under review with developing implications and affirmed the long-term issuer credit rating and existing senior long-term issue rating of "bb+" of the parent company, Fidelity & Guaranty Life.

The ratings have been removed from under review with developing implications following the closing of Fidelity & Guaranty Life's acquisition by CF Corp., now FGL Holdings.

A.M. Best said the positive outlook assigned to the ratings primarily reflects the recently improved risk-adjusted capitalization of Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance, Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Co. of New York and Fidelity & Guaranty Life, and the strong financial flexibility they are expected to maintain as a member of FGL Holdings.

Property and casualty

A.M. Best has downgraded the long-term issuer credit rating to "bbb" from "bbb+" and affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Good) of McMillan-Warner Mutual Insurance Co.

The outlook of the long-term issuer credit rating has been revised to stable from negative, while the outlook of the financial strength rating remains stable.

The ratings reflect the company's very strong balance sheet strength, its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management, A.M. Best said.

The rating action also reflects the company's volatility in underwriting performance, while the change in outlook reflects the strength of risk-adjusted capitalization and strong balance sheet liquidity, the rating agency added.

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A.M. Best has downgraded the long-term issuer credit rating to "bbb-" from "bbb" of Maiden Holdings Ltd. and Maiden Holdings North America Ltd., along with all associated long-term issue credit ratings.

Additionally, the rating agency has downgraded the financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating to "a-" from "a" for Maiden Holdings' insurance operating subsidiaries, Maiden Reinsurance Ltd. and Maiden Reinsurance North America Inc.

All of these rating outlooks have been revised to negative from stable, which reflect a decline in balance sheet strength and the potential that continuation of recent underwriting and operating trends could lead to negative action on the rating, A.M. Best said.

Meanwhile, the ratings on the companies reflect their very strong balance sheet strength, their adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management, the agency noted.

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A.M. Best has placed under review with negative implications the long-term issuer credit rating of "b-" of Atlas Financial Holdings Inc. and the financial strength ratings of B (Fair) and the long-term issuer credit ratings of "bb" of American Service Insurance Co. Inc., American Country Insurance Co. and Gateway Insurance Co.

A.M. Best also has placed under review with negative implications the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and the long-term issuer credit rating of "bbb-" of Global Liberty Insurance Co. of New York.

The ratings actions follow the March 1 announcement by Atlas that it took a significant reserve strengthening charge in the fourth quarter in its insurance operations, primarily related to Michigan-related claims and non-New York Global Liberty business written prior to 2016.

A.M. Best expects the reserve strengthening to have a significant impact on statutory equity, reducing surplus at American Service Pool by approximately 32% and at Global Liberty by approximately 36%.

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A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the long-term issuer credit ratings of "a+" of Hiscox Insurance Co. Ltd., Hiscox Insurance Co. (Bermuda) Ltd., Hiscox Insurance Co. (Guernsey) Ltd. and Hiscox Insurance Co. Inc.

At the same time, A.M. Best has affirmed the long-term issuer credit rating of "bbb+" of the parent company, Hiscox Ltd.

The outlook of these ratings remains stable.

The ratings reflect Hiscox's consolidated balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management, the rating agency said.

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A.M. Best has withdrawn the financial strength rating of D (Poor) and the long-term issuer credit rating of "c" of American Resources Insurance Co. Inc.

The outlook is negative.

The withdrawal of these ratings follows the downgrade of the ratings on Feb. 23 and comes at the company's request to no longer participate in A.M. Best's rating process, the agency said.

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Kroll Bond Rating Agency has assigned insurance financial strength rating of A- with a stable outlook to the key operating subsidiaries of WT Holdings Inc. — Stillwater Insurance Co. and Stillwater Property & Casualty Insurance Co.; Tri-State Consumer Insurance Co.; and Evergreen National Indemnity Co.

Additionally, Kroll has assigned an issuer rating of BBB- with a stable outlook to WT Holdings.

The ratings of Stillwater Insurance and Stillwater Property & Casualty Insurance reflect their reasonable underwriting leverage, multi-channel distribution platform, consistent investment income and seasoned management team, according to Kroll, which is of the view that despite an underwriting loss in 2017, the companies have fundamentally strong underwriting and financial analytics, with advanced technology for risk selection.

Tri-State's rating reflects its local market knowledge, disciplined homeowners underwriting selection, low underwriting leverage, and consistent generation of net income, while the rating of Evergreen reflects its low underwriting leverage, favorable long-term underwriting results and its knowledgeable and highly-experienced management team in its niche surety business, Kroll said.

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Moody's has affirmed the Baa2 senior debt rating of Selective Insurance Group Inc. and the A2 insurance financial strength ratings of its insurance operating subsidiaries.

The subsidiaries are Selective Insurance Co. of America, Selective Insurance Co. of South Carolina, Selective Insurance Co. of the Southeast, Selective Insurance Co. of New York, Selective Insurance Co. of New England, Selective Auto Insurance Co. of New Jersey, Selective Casualty Insurance Co., Selective Fire & Casualty Insurance Co., Selective Way Insurance Co. and MESA Underwriters Specialty Insurance Co.

The outlook for the ratings is stable.

Moody's said the affirmation of Selective Insurance Group's ratings reflects the group's good regional presence in commercial lines with established independent agency support, solid risk adjusted capitalization, strong asset quality and good underwriting profitability.