A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Western Life Assurance Company.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 B++ (Good) 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 "bbb+" of Western Life Assurance Company (Western Life) (High River, Alberta High River is a town in southwestern Alberta, Canada with a population of 10,716. (2006). It is km ( mi) south of the city of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. ). The outlook for both ratings is stable. The ratings reflect Western Life's trend of increasing 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 and premium production, stable capitalization and low levels of credit risk in its balance sheet. Western Life has reported growth in its key product segments, with the core group accident and sickness the largest segment by premium income and earnings. The steady stream of earnings has led to a very good risk-adjusted capital level. The company's transition to its new ownership under Western Financial Group Inc. presents increased business opportunities, and elevated business production is expected from affiliated distribution going forward. Offsetting the positive rating factors are the challenges associated with achieving greater market share in the Canadian arena due to competition in the group and the individual accident and sickness market. Despite recent growth, Western Life has yet to achieve meaningful economies of scale. In addition, Western Life's parent's strategy of acquisitions has historically generated considerable levels of leverage and intangibles. Finally, the company's absolute capital position is relatively modest, requiring the company to utilize increasing levels of 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. to fund its growth. For Best's Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings. Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
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