A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of W.R. Berkley Insurance (Europe), Limited.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" for W.R. Berkley Insurance (Europe), Limited (WRB) (United Kingdom). The outlook on both ratings remains stable. The ratings reflect WRB's strong capitalisation and support from its ultimate parent, W.R. Berkley Corporation (United States). The ratings also reflect its strong business profile in the UK professional indemnity (PI) market, as well as its strong financial performance. A.M. Best believes WRB has a strong risk-adjusted capitalisation benefiting from a net worth maintenance agreement (NWMA NWMA Northwest Mining Association NWMA North Western Metropolitan Area (UK) NWMA National Woodwork Manufacturers Association NWMA National Western Mining Association ) issued by the parent and is expected to remain strong as high earnings compensate for the increased capital requirements Capital requirements Financing required for the operation of a business, composed of long-term and working capital plus fixed assets. from the growing book of business. A.M. Best expects to see a growth of approximately 6% in the core account (primarily PI) to GBP GBP In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the British Pound. 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. 65 million (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. 115 million) in 2005 (despite the more competitive PI rates) due mainly to the increased business likely to be written, especially within the regional small-to-medium enterprise (SME (1) (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) See SMB. (2) (Subject Matter Expert) An individual who is well-versed in the policies and procedures of a particular department or division. ) market. A.M. Best forecasts WRB's participation in the consortium with R.J. Kiln & Company Limited (United Kingdom) on property 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. business to contribute approximately GBP 21 million (USD 37 million) to gross written premium in 2005. A.M. Best forecasts WRB's financial performance to remain strong, resulting in a return on premium of approximately 15% despite a decrease in after-tax profits of between 10% and 15% in 2005 (GBP 6 million (USD 11.5 million in 2004)). A.M. Best expects that the rate reductions across the book of up to 5%, combined with the increased capacity in the PI market, will lead to a deterioration in the overall combined ratio by approximately 8% to 95% in 2005. For Best's Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit http://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 http://www.ambest.com. |
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