A.M. Best Affirms and Assigns Ratings to Securian Financial Group; Upgrades Ratings of Securian Life Insurance 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 A+ (Superior) 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 "aa" of Minnesota Life The Minnesota Life Insurance Company was founded in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1880 as a mutual insurance company. It was originally organized as a mutual because a general distrust of stockholder-owned businesses prevailed at that time and there was a shortage of people willing to buy Insurance Company (Minnesota Life) (St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery , MN). A.M. Best has also affirmed the FSR of A+ (Superior) and assigned an ICR of "aa" to Minnesota Life's subsidiary, Northstar Life Insurance Company (Northstar) (Ithaca, NY). In addition, A.M. Best has upgraded the FSR to A+ (Superior) from A (Excellent) and assigned an ICR of "aa" to Securian Life Insurance Company (Securian Life) (St. Paul, MN). Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and assigned an ICR of "a" to Cherokee National Life Insurance Company (Macon, GA). The above companies are members of the Securian Financial Group (Securian) (Minnesota). Securian Life will replace Northstar as the group's strategic New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of subsidiary. Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the debt rating of "a+" on the $125 million 8.25% existing surplus notes due September 2025 of Minnesota Life. The outlook for all ratings is stable. Minnesota Life's debt-to-capital ratio remains within the range for its rating and the company maintains a favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. fixed coverage ratio to service its outstanding debt. The ratings reflect Minnesota Life's diversified business lines and earnings sources, its well established distribution channels, profitable operations, strong balance sheet and risk-adjusted capitalization. The ratings also acknowledge the conservative business strategies, effective asset/liability management Asset/Liability Management A technique companies employ in coordinating the management of assets and liabilities so that an adequate return may be earned. Also known as "surplus management. and the ongoing efforts to maintain a competitive edge in its diverse market segments. Offsetting these rating strengths are the fluctuations in earnings experienced in its core product lines in recent years, as well as the ongoing competitive pressure faced in these business lines. Minnesota Life's 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 are reflective of increased revenue in many of its core business lines, its conservative financial and expense management strategies and focus on increasing distribution and scale. The recent consolidation of its individual annuity and retirement plan businesses into one strategic unit, Securian Retirement Savings, has resulted in increased product offerings, creating opportunities for greater economies of scale as the group positions itself to be more competitive in the insurance and 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. industry. A.M. Best expects Minnesota Life's continued efforts to increase scale and distribution--while continuing to manage expense efficiencies--will continue to generate more consistency in earnings going forward. By June 30, 2007, Securian expects to complete the sale of Northstar to an unaffiliated insurance company. Upon the close of the transaction, A.M. Best will evaluate the ratings of Northstar based on its positioning with its new parent. Prior to the sale, the current in force business of Northstar will be coinsured into Securian Life, which is admitted to write business in all 50 states and is an important component of efforts to increase Securian's presence in New York for the Group and Retirement Savings SBUs. Furthermore, it will expand the presence of the Securian brand as a product underwriter underwriter n. a company or person which/who underwrites an insurance policy, issue of corporate securities, business, or project. (See: underwrite) UNDERWRITER, insurances. One who signs a policy of insurance, by which he becomes an insurer. . The products offered through Securian Life will be identical to the products offered through Minnesota Life, except where New York requirements are unique. 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. |
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