A.M. Best Affirms Financial Strength Rating of W. R. Berkley Insurance -Europe- Limited; Assigns Issuer Credit Rating.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) of W. R. Berkley W.R. Berkley NYSE: BER is a Fortune 500 company founded in 1967, and based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It is one of the nation’s premier commercial lines property casualty insurance providers. Insurance (Europe) Limited (WRB) (United Kingdom). At the same time, A.M. Best has assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition or Image Character Recognition) The machine recognition of hand-printed characters as well as machine printing that is difficult to recognize. ) of "a" to WRB reflecting A.M. Best's opinion on the overall ability of WRB to meet its senior obligations, which are insurance policies; hence both ratings (financial strength and ICR) are at the same level. The outlook on both ratings is stable. The ratings reflect the company's strong capitalisation and support from the W.R. Berkley group. They also reflect a strong business profile, as well as a strong and improving financial performance. Offsetting factors are the logistical issues associated with establishing a new operation. A.M. Best expects prospective capitalisation to be enhanced by strong retained earnings Retained Earnings The percentage of net earnings not paid out in dividends, but retained by the company to be reinvested in its core business or to pay debt. It is recorded under shareholders equity on the balance sheet. during the company's first full year of operation in 2004 of approximately GBP GBP In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the British Pound. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 4 - 5 million (USD USD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the U.S. Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 7.4 - 9.2 million). WRB benefits from a highly-experienced management team, and its long-standing relationships with brokers in the London market will, most likely, enable it to grow its year-end 2003 gross premium (GBP 30 million (USD 53.4 million)) significantly by year-end 2006, subject to adequate rating levels being achieved. The book of business will continue to consist primarily of professional indemnity. Approval has been granted from the Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority ("FSA") is an independent non-departmental public body and quasi-judicial body that regulates the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. Its main office is based in Canary Wharf, London, with another office in Edinburgh. for WRB to enter into a consortium agreement with Kiln plc (Kiln) (United Kingdom), which will be effective January 1, 2005. Under the terms of the arrangement, WRB will participate in a consortium with Kiln on property reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. business. WRB will retrocede ret·ro·cede v. ret·ro·ced·ed, ret·ro·ced·ing, ret·ro·cedes v.intr. To go back; recede. v.tr. To cede or give back (a territory, for example); return. its share to Berkley Insurance Company (United States) in return for an overrider commission and expense rebate. A.M. Best expects strong prospective financial performance factoring the expertise of WRB's management and underwriting team, despite more competitive professional indemnity rates as a consequence of increased capacity in the United Kingdom in 2004. For a list of A.M. Best's debt ratings, please visit http://www.ambest.com/debt. For current Best's Ratings, independent data and analysis on more than 3,000 individual property/casualty companies, groups and industry composites, please visit http://www.ambest.com/pc. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at http://www.ambest.com. |
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