A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Glacier Reinsurance AG; Removes from Under Review; Assigns Negative Outlook.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the 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-" of Glacier 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. AG (Glacier Re) (Switzerland). Both ratings have been removed from under review with negative implications and a negative outlook has been assigned. The affirmation reflects the restoration of Glacier Re's risk-adjusted capitalisation through a capital injection. The ratings also factor the company's reduced catastrophe exposure and the revised business forecast for 2006. Glacier Re's shareholders' funds have been strengthened through a capital increase of 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. 30 million following a decline of its risk-adjusted capitalisation due to significant and higher than expected losses at year-end 2005 from US hurricanes. The company has also revised its business plan for 2006 and is planning to write a reduced amount of catastrophe retrocession RETROCESSION, civil law. When the assignee of heritable rights conveys his rights back to the cedent, it is called a retrocession. Erskine, Prin. B. 3, t. 5, n. 1; Dict. do Jur. h.t. premiums in favour of less volatile property business. In addition, Glacier Re has reviewed its overall catastrophe exposure following the US hurricane claims in 2005, resulting in lower probable maximum loss Probable Maximum Loss (PML) The anticipated value of the largest loss that could result from the destruction and the loss of use of property, given the normal functioning of protective features (firewalls, sprinklers, and a responsive fire department, among others, in the for windstorms in 2006. A.M. Best believes that Glacier Re has taken steps to alleviate concerns about its risk management. A.M. Best will closely monitor the effectiveness of the new strategies and procedures with each catastrophic event. A.M. Best expects Glacier Re's initiatives to stabilise its balance sheet and produce excellent earnings in 2006, given the loss in its first year of trading and the increase of claims reserves in respect of the Wilma hurricane in the first six months of 2006. For Best's Ratings Best's rating A rating A.M. Best Co. assigns to insurance companies based on the company's ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders. , an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings. 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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