A.M. Best Affirms and Assigns Ratings to Park Assurance Company.

OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and assigned an issuer credit rating of "a-" to Park Assurance Company (Park) (Burlington, VT). The outlook for both ratings is stable.

The ratings reflect Park's strong balance sheet, excellent liquidity and conservative operating strategy. The ratings also recognize the company's favorable operating results and its role as a single parent captive of JPMorgan Chase & Co. [NYSE: JPM], a leading global financial services group.

Partially offsetting these positive rating factors is Park's large gross underwriting exposures as it offers very high insurance limits and insures some properties with substantial insured values. Park is very dependent on reinsurance in order to offer its various property programs and high limits.

Park provides JPMorgan Chase & Co. with global property coverages, including coverages against terrorism losses. As such, Park is a key component of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s risk management strategy and benefits from the group's significant financial resources. The company also benefits from JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s extensive risk mitigation and safety programs. As Park cedes most of its global property program, its exposure to underwriting losses is minimal, barring significant losses from terrorism. The company only uses well-rated reinsurers, and its surplus base of over $113 million is more than adequate to support its asset and credit risk exposures. However, as Park offers very high limits, its resulting gross underwriting exposures on its largest properties are also very high. Its dependence on reinsurance is therefore substantial, creating considerable credit risk in the event of exceptionally large losses. In addition, it is dependent on the protection afforded by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 (TRIEA). While the TRIEA program offers significant protection from terrorism losses, the net impact on Park could still be burdensome considering the high coverage limits offered. Nevertheless, A.M. Best recognizes the low probability of such extreme events and the support available to the company as part of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

For current Best's Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and healthcare service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.