A.M. Best Affirms and Withdraws Ratings of Georgia-based Delta Fire & Casualty

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Atlanta-based Delta Fire & Casualty Insurance Company.

The outlook for these ratings is stable. Subsequently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings and assigned a category NR-4 (Company Request) to Delta Fire in response to a request from the companies’ management to be removed from A.M. Best’s interactive rating process.

Delta Fire, a sister company to Delta Life, holds a large portion of its policyholders’ surplus in Wachovia common stock as well as Regions Financial Corp. common stock.

While Delta Fire’s underwriting results in 2007 were in line with its most recent year’s results, unrealized capital losses on the bank holdings served to reduce surplus by $2 million, or 17 percent. The market value of the Wachovia and Regions Financial holdings shrunk further during 2008. Nevertheless, Delta Fire’s risk-adjusted capitalization remains more than supportive of its FSR and ICR, which were affirmed prior to withdrawal of the ratings.

Source: A.M. Best Company

Topics Georgia AM Best Casualty