A.M. Best Affirms Rating of National Western Life; Assigns Issuer Credit Rating.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and 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 National Western Life Insurance Company (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : NWLIA NWLIA National Western Life Insurance (stock symbol) ) (Denver, CO). All ratings have a stable outlook. These rating actions reflect NWLIA's favorable risk-adjusted capitalization, consistently profitable operating results, a good asset-liability management program and its sustained life insurance marketing presence in Latin America. NWLIA's strong risk-adjusted capitalization has been enhanced by consistent statutory and GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). earnings, particularly within its annuity segment. The company's net premium growth has been primarily driven by its equity-indexed annuity equity-indexed annuity A contract with an insurance company that promises periodic payments keyed in a specified manner to a stock market index. Unlike variable annuities, equity-indexed annuities specify a guaranteed minimum return that is typically 3%. segment. While NWLIA's rapid annuity growth over the past two years has resulted in significant interest rate risks, the company's strong risk-adjusted capitalization, surrender charge Surrender Charge A fee levied on a life insurance policyholder upon cancellation of his or her life insurance policy. The fee is used to cover the costs of keeping the insurance policy on the insurance provider's books. protection and market value adjustment features somewhat mitigate these risks. In noting NWLIA's significant growth in equity-indexed annuities, A.M. Best acknowledges its prudent product design and customer profiles, effective hedging programs and active market conduct and compliance programs. However, A.M. Best remains cautious over the potential declines in the industry's future equity-indexed annuity sales and its impact on statutory earnings given the increasing due diligence Research; analysis; your homework. This term has caught on in all industries, because it sounds so "wired." Who would want to do analysis or research when they can do due diligence. See wired. demanded to comply with the prevailing heightened regulatory environment. For the period ending December 31, 2004, NWLIA reported total shareholders' equity of $808.7 million. For Best's Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit http://www.ambest.com/ratings. For current Best's Ratings, independent data and analysis on more than 1,100 individual life/health companies and A.M. Best groups, please visit http://www.ambest.com/lh. 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. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion