A.M. Best Affirms Rating to Washington Dental Service.Business Editors OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2002 A.M. Best Co. has affirmed af·firm v. af·firmed, af·firm·ing, af·firms v.tr. 1. To declare positively or firmly; maintain to be true. 2. To support or uphold the validity of; confirm. v.intr. the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) for Washington Dental Service (WDS Wds Words WDS Wireless Distribution System (Joint Common Database) WDS Wide-area Data Services WDS Wireless Domain Services (Cisco Systems technology) WDS Wavelength Dispersive Spectroscopy ), Seattle. The rating reflects market dominance Market dominance is a measure of the strength of a brand, product, service, or firm, relative to competitive offerings. There is often a geographic element to the competitive landscape. in the state of Washington, favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. capitalization capitalization n. 1) the act of counting anticipated earnings and expenses as capital assets (property, equipment, fixtures) for accounting purposes. 2) the amount of anticipated net earnings which hypothetically can be used for conversion into capital assets. and a consistently positive operating performance. Partially offsetting these strengths are the concentration risk associated with three major accounts and the limited penetration in the small group market. WDS was one of the founding members of the Delta Dental Plans Delta Dental Plan, n.pr an active member organization of the Delta Dental Plans Association (a not-for-profit organization), formed and guided by state dental societies to provide prepaid dental care to the public on a group basis. Association. Presently, it has a 29% market share, while the nearest competitor only has 12%. WDS provides dental coverage to more than 736,000 primary subscribers and more than 1.8 million individuals including dependents. WDS has increased its capital and surplus to more than 27% since 1997 by consistently generating net income. Rate increases have been stable and persistency rates at 98%. In addition, the risk-based capital reserve is strong and exceeds all state requirements. WDS maintains an enrollment concentration in three accounts, representing 39% of total membership. Since 1995, when it represented 50% of the total enrollment, the percentage of concentration risk has been consistently reduced. A.M. Best acknowledges that all of the accounts are legacy accounts, some as long as 30 years. A.M. Best also notes that the increasing number of new groups added each year has reduced dependence on these accounts. The company's primary business growth strategy has been to target large to mid-size groups. Since WDS maintains a leadership position in the larger group size account and has made progress in the mid-size groups it now can redirect re·di·rect tr.v. re·di·rect·ed, re·di·rect·ing, re·di·rects To change the direction or course of. n. A redirect examination. re its efforts to focus on the small group market segment. Understanding that the small group market segment prefers medical and dental benefits to be bundled under one bill, A.M. Best anticipates that WDS will seek to partner with other non-dental providers in order to accommodate the expectations of the small group market. 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 www.ambest.com. |
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