A.M. Best Affirms and Assigns Ratings to Farmers New World Life Insurance Company.

OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and assigned an issuer credit rating of "a" to Farmers New World Life Insurance Company (FNWL) (Mercer Island, WA). The outlook for both ratings is stable.

The rating of FNWL is based on its role within the Farmers Insurance Group and its access to the Farmers multi-line agency force. The rating also reflects FNWL's profitable statutory operating results and strong stand-alone risk-adjusted capitalization. Partially offsetting these factors are the company's exposure to interest sensitive collateralized mortgage-backed securities and a block of annuity business with little or no surrender charge protection products.

FNWL is owned by Farmers Group Inc. (Los Angeles, CA), a leading provider of personal lines insurance, whose ultimate parent is Zurich Financial Services AG (Switzerland) [SWX: ZURN].

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 industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.