Latest AM Best Headlines
All the headlines from our AM Best Topic Page, ordered by recency.
A.M. Best: Outlook Stable for Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual
Feb 11 2015 // A.M. Best has revised the outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the financial strength rating of B- (Fair) and the issuer credit ratings of “bb-” of the members of Oklahoma Farm Bureau Group: Oklahoma...
A.M. Best: Drivers Behind London Market M&A Activity to Continue
Feb 10 2015 // The changing dynamics in the specialist property/casualty sector continue to encourage merger and acquisition activity in the London market. A new briefing from A.M. Best notes that the need for insurers to leverage...
A.M. Best: Outlook Stable for Louisiana’s Stonetrust Commercial Insurance
Feb 6 2015 // A.M. Besthas removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” of Stonetrust Commercial Insurance...
A.M. Best: Europe’s Largest Cedants Alter Reinsurance Purchasing Practices
Feb 6 2015 // Europe’s 20 largest cedants are benefiting from lower reinsurance rates and stronger bargaining power, resulting from a trend that saw increasing centralized reinsurance purchasing at a group level. A new report from...
A.M. Best: Reinsurers Need Underwriting Discipline in Competitive Market
Jan 14 2015 // Increasing competition and lower underwriting margins in the reinsurance market highlights the importance of disciplined underwriting, according to an A.M. Best briefing entitled “Global Reinsurers: Who Will Gain...
Proposed XL Acquisition of Catlin Gets Review From Rating Agencies
Jan 12 2015 // A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s have weighed in with their comments about XL Group’s announced agreement to acquire Catlin Group Ltd. for $4.1 billion in cash and stock. A.M. Best placed the financial...
U.S. Insurers Still Funding Asbestos, Environmental Liabilities: A.M. Best
Jan 5 2015 // The current estimate of net asbestos losses for the U.S. property/casualty industry remains at $85 billion, with net environmental losses estimated at $42 billion, according to a new Best’s Special Report. According...
A.M. Best Reaffirms Chesapeake Employers’ Financial Strength Rating
Dec 24 2014 // Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company, the largest workers’ compensation insurance company in Maryland, announced that insurance ratings agency A.M. Best Co. has reaffirmed a financial strength rating of A-...
A.M. Best: Iowa’s Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Under Review
Dec 23 2014 // A.M. Bestplaced under review with negative implications the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” of Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa (FMH) of West Des...
A.M. Best: Rated Middle Eastern Insurers Well-Capitalized; Reliant on Reinsurance
Dec 22 2014 // Insurers in the Middle East have strong levels of risk-adjusted capital, although they continue to rely heavily on reinsurance protection and carry elevated levels of investment risk. A new report from A.M. Best states...
A.M. Best: Ratings Stable for Western European (Re)Insurers
Dec 22 2014 // Insurers and reinsurers in western Europe posted solid performances in 2014 and retained their capital strength against a backdrop of economic calm, according to a new special report from A.M. Best. The report analyzes the...
A.M. Best Report: ‘Grey Swan’ Risks Can Affect Balance Sheets, Ratings
Dec 17 2014 // A new special report from A.M. Best discusses the need for non-life and life insurers to address threats called “grey swans,” the low-probability, high-severity events that have the potential to impair balance...
A.M. Best: Global Re Stocks Underperform as Catastrophe Prices Drop
Dec 15 2014 // Stocks for publicly traded reinsurance companies (including the four large European reinsurers) performed well below the overall market through the third quarter of 2014, driven in part by the increased volatility in the...
A.M. Best Comments on Results of EIOPA’s Insurance Stress Test
Dec 9 2014 // A.M. Best said it would be premature to draw negative conclusions from the most recent Solvency II stress tests conducted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and does not anticipate any...
A.M. Best Report: Last Resort Insurers Welcome Catastrophe Bond Market
Dec 3 2014 // The convergence market has provided an opportunity for entities that act as insurers of last resort to transfer some of their peak exposures to the capital markets, according to a Best’s Special Report titled,...
A.M. Best: Asia-Pacific M&As Driven by Top-Line Growth Prospects
Dec 3 2014 // The Asia-Pacific region has been a popular destination for mergers and acquisitions, driven by top-line growth prospects for many still-developing markets with low insurance penetration, according to a Best’s Special...
A.M. Best: Buffalo Snowstorm Impacts Regional Property Writers
Dec 1 2014 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said there is potential for some insurers — particularly the small, geographically concentrated writers — that were impacted by the recent snowstorm in and around Buffalo, New York, to...
No Ratings Impact from UK’s Counter-Terrorism/Security Bill: A.M. Best
Dec 1 2014 // A bulletin from A.M. Best indicates that it “does not expect rated insurers to be impacted by the amendments to the UK’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, making it illegal for insurers to reimburse ransom...
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Munich Re and Subsidiaries
Nov 14 2014 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Munich Reinsurance Company (Munich Re) (Germany) and its subsidiaries. Concurrently,...
A.M. Best Assigns A- (Excellent) Rating to Kelvin Re in Guernsey
Nov 12 2014 // A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Kelvin Re Limited (Guernsey). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable. The ratings reflect...
