A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Max Re Ltd. and Its Affiliates.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed 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) and the issuer credit ratings (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 Max Re Ltd. (Max Re) and its affiliated companies Affiliated Companies A situation that occurs when one company owns a minority interest (less than 50%) in another company. Also refers to companies that are related to each other in some way. Notes: An affiliated company is sometimes referred to as a subsidiary. . A.M. Best has also affirmed the ICR of "bbb-" of Max Re Capital Ltd. (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 : MXRE) (both of Hamilton, Bermuda). All ratings have a stable outlook. (See below for a detailed list of the ratings.) These ratings reflect Max Re's diversified mix of traditional property/casualty products, along with its life and annuity business, solid operating results and an experienced management team. Its book of business, which predominately contains long-tail casualty lines, is fully supported by the company's excellent level of risk-based capitalization and risk management controls. Lines of business include professional liability, general liability, aviation and marine, property, 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. and medical malpractice Improper, unskilled, or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional. lines. Max Re's life and annuity business focuses on existing blocks of business where risk is generally reinsured on the same basis as the original policy. Life and annuity 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. products may include individual and group disability, whole life, universal life, structured settlements and others. In response to more attractive property/casualty premium rates over the past several years, Max Re has increased writings in more traditional property reinsurance and insurance products. For the year-ended December 31, 2005, Max Re's property/casualty results were just under breakeven breakeven 1. The level of output or sales necessary to cover fixed expenses. Companies in industries that have high fixed costs and, consequently, high breakevens, such as automobile and steel manufacturing, are likely to exhibit large fluctuations despite 2005 hurricane season Hurricane season refers to a period in a year when hurricanes usually form. For more information see: Tropical cyclone#Times of formation. For a lists of past seasons, see:
Partially offsetting these strengths is Max Re's predominately long-tail casualty orientation of its book of business. Due to the long-term nature of these lines, pricing and reserve adequacy may not be apparent for several years. Furthermore, A.M. Best believes that the potential variability of Max Re's alternative investment portfolio introduces an elevated risk factor to the company; however, this risk factor is included in Max Re's risk-based capital model. The FSR of A- (Excellent) and the ICRs of "a-" have been affirmed for Max Re Ltd. and its following operating subsidiaries: --Max Re Europe Limited --Max Insurance Europe Limited The ICR of "bbb-" has been affirmed for Max Re Capital Ltd. 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 330 reinsurance companies, please visit http://www.ambest.com/reinsurance/. 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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