Latest AM Best Headlines

All the headlines from our AM Best Topic Page, ordered by recency.

A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies

Oct 2 2017 // Hurricane Irma represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the financial wherewithal of some local and regional carriers in Florida, particularly those that are...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Pennsylvania’s Eastern Atlantic Insurance

Oct 2 2017 // A.M. Best has revised its outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” for Harrisburg, Pa.-based Eastern Atlantic...

A.M. Best Assigns A- Rating to Oklahoma’s Trisura Specialty Insurance

Sep 29 2017 // A.M. Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” to Trisura Specialty Insurance Co. (Trisura Specialty), based in Oklahoma City. The ratings...

Global Reinsurers to Bear ‘Significant Share’ of Hurricane Maria Claims: A.M. Best

Sep 28 2017 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said it expects a significant share of the loss from Hurricane Maria to pass on to the global reinsurers evenly. The agency said it expects the loss would remain within the overall risk tolerance...

A.M. Best Lowers Ratings for Transportation Insurer Canal Insurance of South Carolina

Sep 28 2017 // Canal Insurance Co., a family-owned insurer focused on commercial trucking and specialty transportation, is dealing with a ratings downgrade from A.M. Best. A.M. Best knocked down the A- (Excellent) financial strength...

Workers’ Compensation Insurers Report Slow Growth: A.M. Best

Sep 27 2017 // The workers’ compensation industry reported a record high $58.5 billion in direct premiums written in 2016 but year-after-year growth slowed for the first time in five years. According to an A.M. Best report, the...

A.M. Best Upgrades Prime Insurance Company with an A Rating

Sep 26 2017 // Specialty Excess and Surplus Lines Carrier’s Financial Stability Affirmed Chicago, Illinois, Salt Lake City, Utah and Naples, Florida, September 26, 2017- Prime Insurance Company announced today that A.M. Best Co....

AIG Restructures Again; Commercial Lines CEO Schimek to Leave

Sep 25 2017 // American International Group is reorganizing its underwriting businesses into three main segments—General Insurance, Life & Retirement, and a standalone technology-enabled platform—the company announced today. The...

A.M. Best Upgrades Credit Rating for Columbia Lloyds Companies

Sep 21 2017 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb+” from “bbb” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) of Columbia Lloyds Insurance Co. and...

A.M. Best Warns on Hurricane Maria Impact on Caribbean/Puerto Rican Insurers

Sep 20 2017 // Many insurers and reinsurers in the Caribbean and in Puerto Rico will be tested as they brace for Hurricane Maria, the second hurricane to hit the region in two weeks, according to ratings agency A.M. Best. Hurricane Maria...

A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies

Sep 18 2017 // Although insured losses as a result of Hurricane Irma will not be as severe as originally forecast, the storm still represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the...

Ratings of Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Downgraded by A.M. Best

Sep 8 2017 // A.M. Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a-” from “a” of Kansas Medical Mutual...

Increasing Competition, Flat Exposures Put Drag on Surplus Lines: A.M. Best

Sep 5 2017 // For a second consecutive year, underwriters of surplus lines insurance in the United States generated just modest growth in direct premium of 2.8 percent in 2016, according to a new A.M. Best special report. Surplus lines...

Hurricane Harvey Puts Pressure on Regional Insurers in Texas, Says A.M. Best

Sep 5 2017 // Losses anticipated from Hurricane Harvey are unlikely to exceed the top reinsurance limits of insurers writing business in Texas, according to new Best’s Special Report, titled, “Texas Insurers Expected to...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Pennsylvania’s Eastern Atlantic Insurance

Aug 31 2017 // A.M. Best has revised its outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” for Harrisburg, Penn.-based Eastern Atlantic...

P/C Insurers Lost $5.1 Billion on Underwriting in First Half of 2017: A.M. Best

Aug 29 2017 // The U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry recorded a net underwriting loss of $5.1 billion for the first six months of 2017, according to preliminary results, compared with a $2.0 billion loss in the same period a year...

Typhoon Hato Will Have Limited Financial Impact on Macau Insurers: A.M. Best

Aug 28 2017 // Typhoon Hato will have only a moderate impact on the earnings of rated non-life insurers in Macau, and a limited effect on their financial strength, according to A.M. Best. On Aug. 23, 2017, Typhoon Hato (Category 2 on the...

A.M. Best Weighs Hurricane Harvey’s Financial Hit; Ranks Top 30 Texas Insurers

Aug 25 2017 // With Hurricane Harvey threatening the Texas coastline, A.M. Best said it has begun to assess the potential financial impact this event may have on the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry. The most recent track of Harvey...

A.M. Best Assigns ‘A’ Rating to New Texas Insurer, Starr Specialty

Aug 23 2017 // Ratings agency, A.M. Best, has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a” to Starr Specialty Insurance Co. (Starr Specialty),...

A.M. Best América Latina Chief Resigns; Keenan Assumes Interim Role

Aug 18 2017 // A.M. Best announced today that Manuel Agustin Calderón de las Heras has resigned from his position as managing director of A.M. Best América Latina to pursue other opportunities. Calderón de las Heras has been with A.M....