A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Highmark Inc. and Its Subsidiaries.OLDWICK, N.J. -- 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 (FSR (Free System Resource) In Windows 3.x, the amount of unused memory in various 64K blocks reserved for managing current applications. Every open window takes some space in this area. See Windows memory limitation. ) of A (Excellent), 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" and senior debt rating of "a-" of Highmark Inc. (Highmark) (Pittsburgh, PA). A.M. Best also has affirmed ratings of Highmark's numerous interactively rated health and dental subsidiaries. Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the FSR of A- (Excellent) and ICR of "a-" of Highmark Casualty Insurance Company (Pittsburgh, PA). The outlook for all rating is stable. (Please see below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.) Highmark's consistently favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. revenue development and the elevated scale of its capital and surplus have positioned the organization as one of the dominant not-for-profit health insurers among Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. plans. Highmark's strong technological infrastructure supports an increasingly expanding range of health care services, including medical, dental, medical stop-loss, vision care, 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. and workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. . Highmark has built a large network of subsidiaries, partners and affiliates to provide a broad spectrum of provider networks and flexibility in product designs that help the organization to achieve its mission to provide a one-stop shopping service environment to both its national and domestic members and customers. Over the past year, Highmark has actively responded to the significant competitive environment, resulting in dramatically reduced underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. gains. Additionally, Highmark has taken measures to sustain its high business retention rates through the transfer of members to non risk-based products, which has resulted in some margin suppression. To its credit, the organization has had to manage its affairs while under a state imposed ceiling on risk-based capital. The proposed merger between Highmark and Independence Blue Cross creates opportunity to bring order and efficiency to the very diverse Pennsylvania health insurance market. However, the organization is challenged by the amount of time and resources recently spent in trying to move forward with the proposed merger. A.M. Best also is concerned about business consolidation risk and that the combined organization has the potential for a measurably weaker capital position, which could result in future downward rating pressure on the medical insurance companies. The FSR of A (Excellent) and ICR of "a" have been affirmed for Highmark Inc. The FSR of A (Excellent) and ICRs of "a" have been affirmed for the following subsidiaries of Highmark Inc.: * Keystone key·stone n. 1. Architecture The central wedge-shaped stone of an arch that locks its parts together. Also called headstone. 2. The central supporting element of a whole. Health Plan West, Inc. * Highmark West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. Inc. (d.b.a. Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield, Inc.) The FSR of A- (Excellent) and ICRs of "a-" have been affirmed for the following subsidiaries of Highmark Inc.: * HM Life Insurance Company * HM Life Insurance Company of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of * United Concordia Companies, Inc. * United Concordia Life and Health Insurance Company * United Concordia Insurance Company * United Concordia Insurance Company of New York * United Concordia Dental Plans of California, Inc. * United Concordia Dental Plans of Pennsylvania, Inc. * United Concordia Dental Plans, Inc. The FSR of A- (Excellent) and the ICR of "a-" have been affirmed for Highmark Casualty Insurance Company. The following debt rating has been affirmed: Highmark Inc.-- --"a-" on $375 million 6.8% senior unsecured notes, due 2013 Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion