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 New Horizons Insurance Company of Missouri (New Horizons). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
Concurrently, affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” of Farm Bureau Town and Country Insurance Company of Missouri (FBTC). The outlook of these ratings is stable.
New Horizons is a newly added member of the Missouri Farm Bureau Group (Missouri Farm Bureau), of which FBTC is the other member. All companies are domiciled in Jefferson City, Missouri.
The ratings of Missouri Farm Bureau Group reflect the companies’ balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
Missouri Farm Bureau Group exhibits balance sheet strength assessed at the very strong level, and maintains solid liquidity and leverage measures.
However, these favorable balance sheet attributes are offset by the limited financial flexibility of the group, given its limited access to the capital markets.
Missouri Farm Bureau Group’s operating performance is adequate. This assessment includes favorable underwriting performance observed over the past five years, which is owed to the company’s favorable expense structure and exclusive captive agency network. The expense savings have served to offset the impact of elevated loss experience in earlier years from weather events in the state. As a result, the group’s five-year average pre-tax and total returns on revenue and equity are solid and compare favorably with the composite.
The ratings also reflect the group’s limited business profile. As a single state writer in Missouri, the group is exposed to frequent and severe weather-related events, as well as any judicial, regulatory or economic concerns that may arise.
The addition of New Horizons to the group reflects its strategic importance to the Missouri Farm Bureau Group’s geographic diversification strategy, and its sharing of common management and operational capabilities.
Source: A.M. Best
Topics Agribusiness Missouri
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