A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Trustmark Group, Inc.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 issuer credit ratings of "a-" of Trustmark Insurance Company and Trustmark Life Insurance Company (Trustmark Life) (both of Lake Forest, IL). Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the 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 "bbb-" of the holding company, Trustmark Group, Inc. (Trustmark). The outlook for all ratings is stable. The rating affirmations reflect the organization's overall good operating results, low leverage and diversity within its revenue sources. Additionally, Trustmark has shown favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. premium growth and profitability in its core voluntary benefits segment. While the organization incurred some realized capital losses in 2008, its investment portfolio performed relatively well over the past turbulent year. After years of reporting lower revenue as an organization, A.M. Best believes Trustmark is now positioned to have its growth businesses outpace out·pace tr.v. out·paced, out·pac·ing, out·pac·es To surpass or outdo (another), as in speed, growth, or performance. outpace Verb [-pacing, revenue running off from non-core or divested businesses. However, Trustmark's affiliated large third party administrator, CoreSource, continues to underperform as Trustmark continues to make changes to that unit in an effort to return it to past profitability levels. Additionally, over the past year, Trustmark Life has reported reduced operating earnings Operating Earnings Profits after subtracting expenses such as marketing, cost of goods sold, administration and general operating costs from revenue. Notes: Tax and interest expenses are not subtracted - operating earnings are synonymous with EBIT (earnings before due to higher loss ratios in its group major medical business, which continues to be highly competitive, volatile and subject to state and federal regulatory requirements Regulatory requirements are part of the process of drug discovery and drug development. Regulatory requirements describe what is necessary for a new drug to be approved for marketing in any particular country. . A.M. Best also has adjusted down one notch to "bb" from "bb+" the trust preferred securities issued by Trustmark Finance Trust I. The rating outlook is stable. This adjustment does not reflect any changes in the creditworthiness Creditworthiness The condition in which the risk of default on a debt obligation by that entity is deemed low. Creditworthiness Eligibility of an individual or firm to borrow money. or the financial fundamentals of the organization. A.M. Best believes the additional notch better reflects the relative default probability and ultimate recovery of these securities given the industry's increasing financial leverage and reduced fixed charge coverage as well as the equity-like characteristics of these instruments. For Best's Debt Ratings, all other 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. 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