AM Best News

Bernhard Capital Forges Partnership with Louisiana’s Gray Casualty & Surety

A group of investors led by Bernhard Capital Partners Management LP (Bernhard Capital), a services and infrastructure-focused private equity management firm, has entered into an agreement to make a significant investment in Metairie, Louisiana-based The Gray Casualty & Surety Co. …

AM Best Signs Up to UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance, in Ratings Agency First

AM Best became a signatory of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI). The insurance industry plays an important role in supporting sustainable economic and social development, said AM Best. Further, management of environmental, social and …

Assessing Delegated Underwriting Authorities, MGAs: AM Best Explains

Over the last decade, as insurers and reinsurers have sought profitable opportunities for growth, they increasingly have handed the underwriting pen to managing general agents, managing general underwriters, program administrators and other underwriting agencies. These specialized distribution partners have not …

AM Best Plans to Assess MGAs, Other Delegated Authority Entities

With the volume of premium generated by managing general agents and other delegated underwriting authority enterprises (DUAEs) rocketing skyward in recent years, AM Best had decided it is time to deliver assessments of these entities. “What we’ve seen is really …

‘A-‘ Rating Assigned to Illinois Workers’ Comp Carrier Pekin Select Insurance

AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” to Pekin Select Insurance Co. (PSIC), headquartered in Pekin, Ill., a subsidiary of Pekin Insurance Group (Pekin). The outlook is stable. …

Repair Your Damaged Reputations, AM Best Tells UK Insurers

While most of the COVID-related problems that plagued UK commercial property insurers will abate after the March anniversary of lockdowns, battles with reinsurers and damaged reputations are lingering impacts, AM Best said. In a commentary report, “UK Commercial Property Insurers—Looking …

Ratings of Ohio’s Wayne Mutual Insurance Upgraded

AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “a” from “a-” of Wayne Mutual Insurance Co. (Wayne Mutual) in Wooster, Ohio. The outlook of these ratings has …

Hallmark Financial CEO Resigns; AM Best ‘A-‘ Rating Maintained

AM Best announced that its would not change the “A-” financial strength ratings of the members of Dallas-based Hallmark Insurance Group nor the “bbb-” long-term issue credit rating of Hallmark Financial Services, after Hallmark Financial announced the CEO is resigning. …

AM Best, Moody’s Rate Personal Lines Insurance Market Outlook as Stable

AM Best kept its stable market segment outlook on the U.S. personal lines insurance segment for 2021, citing the segment’s strong risk-adjusted capitalization and profitable underwriting performance in private passenger automobile, as well as underwriting actions benefiting the homeowners segment. …

AM Best Assigns ‘A’ Rating to Nebraska’s Summit Specialty Insurance

AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” to Summit Specialty Insurance Co. (SSIC), based in Omaha, Neb. The outlook assigned to these ratings is stable. SSIC is a …