Latest AM Best Headlines
All the headlines from our AM Best Topic Page, ordered by recency.
French & German Floods to Hit Insurers’ Earnings but Not Ratings: A.M. Best
Jun 27 2016 // The earnings of French and German insurers during the first half of 2016 will be dampened by flood claims following storms Elvira and Friederike, which pounded the countries in quick succession between late May and early...
Ratings Downgrades for Members of California-based CSAA: A.M. Best
Jun 20 2016 // A.M. Best has downgraded the financial strength rating to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings to “a+” from “aa-” of the members of Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA...
Persistent Soft Market Begins to Hit Reinsurer Stock Prices: A.M. Best
Jun 15 2016 // While global reinsurers are continuing to withstand challenging market conditions, their stock prices, on average, are starting to take a hit as a result of the persistent soft market and its negative effect on top line...
A.M. Best Removes Atlantic Casualty from Under Review, Upgrades Ratings
Jun 13 2016 // A.M. Best has removed from under review with positive implications and upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from...
Outlooks Revised to Stable for Hallmark Financial Services, Subsidiaries
Jun 9 2016 // Ratings agency, A.M. Best, has revised the outlooks to stable from negative and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a-” of the members of...
Ratings Downgrades for Members of California-based CSAA: A.M. Best
Jun 8 2016 // A.M. Best has downgraded the financial strength rating to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings to “a+” from “aa-” of the members of Walnut Creek, Calif.-based CSAA...
Agency E&O and Carrier Insolvency: Things Stay the Same
Jun 6 2016 // Insurance company insolvency has been a thorny issue spanning many decades. The only consistency is that there is no one solution and that an agent can be held liable for placing coverage with a company that becomes...
A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Republic Underwriters Insurance, Affiliates
May 17 2016 // A.M. Besthas removed from under review with positive implications and upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from...
Medical Professional Liability Insurers’ Profits Decline But Outlook Stable: A.M. Best
May 11 2016 // The specialty medical professional liability (MPL) insurance industry remained profitable in 2015, however its net income fell nearly 36.6 percent to almost $1.1 billion in 2015. In a special report, A.M. Best said the MPL...
Costly Alberta Wildfires to Hit Q2 Results; Insurers Are Resilient: Ratings Reports
May 9 2016 // While the wildfires raging through northern Alberta and the city of Fort McMurray could bring one of the largest catastrophe losses in Canadian history, property insurers are resilient, according to A.M. Best and...
A.M. Best: Texas Hail Storm Damage Poised to Exceed 9-Year U.S. Average
Apr 26 2016 // A.M. Best says year-to-date 2016 results in Texas alone appear to have already met the nine-year average for hail storm damage in the United States. According to Best’s Briefing, titled, “Texas Hail Storm...
Safety Specialty Insurance Co. Assigned A+ Rating by A.M. Best
Apr 22 2016 // A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and an issuer credit rating of “aa-” to Safety Specialty Insurance Co., based in St. Louis, Mo. The outlook assigned to each rating is...
A.M. Best: Ratings of National Unity Insurance Downgraded, Withdrawn
Apr 22 2016 // A.M. Best reported it has both downgraded and withdrawn the ratings for National Unity Insurance Company (National Unity) in San Antonio, Texas. National Unity specializes domestic non-standard auto business, as well as in...
Catastrophe Exposure Grows with Selective Use of Alternative Capital: A.M. Best
Apr 20 2016 // Insurers in the London, Europe and Bermuda markets writing catastrophe-exposed business take a different approach to retention of risk at the 1-in-100-year return level in comparison to the 1-in-250-year level, according...
Outlook for Columbia Insurance Revised to Stable: A.M. Best
Apr 19 2016 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to stable for Columbia Insurance Group (Columbia) and its subsidiaries. Additionally, the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a-” are...
A.M. Best Revises Outlook for Mississippi Farm Bureau Insurance
Apr 18 2016 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co. in...
Reinsurers’ Results Are Strong – but Can Good Fortune Continue? Asks A.M. Best
Apr 14 2016 // Reinsurers have been delivering solid operating results, with publicly traded reinsurers currently outpacing the overall equity market – but this good fortune may not be sustainable, given the headwinds that are...
Stocks of P/C Insurers Ended Last Year on Upswing: A.M. Best
Apr 13 2016 // Stocks prices of U.S. property/casualty insurance companies rebounded in fourth-quarter 2015 after a tumultuous third quarter. For 42 U.S. publicly traded P/C stocks analyzed by A.M. Best, the average return for the fourth...
Ratings of Minnesota’s Rural Community Insurance Upgraded: A.M. Best
Apr 8 2016 // A.M. Best has removed from under review with developing implications and upgraded the financial strength rating to A+ (Superior) from A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating to “aa-” from “a+” of...
Watford Re Forms E&S Insurer Watford Specialty, Partnering with Arch
Apr 4 2016 // Watford Re Ltd. has formed a new excess and surplus lines insurer called Watford Specialty Insurance Co. (WSIC), based in Morristown, N.J. WSIC’s lines of business “will be similar to what we’ve been...
