A.M. Best Assigns an "A" --Excellent-- Rating to LaSalle Re Ltd.OLDWICK, N.J. USA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 1997--Effective immediately, A.M. Best Co. has assigned an initial rating of "A" (Excellent) to LaSalle Re Ltd. The rating reflects the Bermuda-based company's strong capitalization, geographic spread of exposures, excellent 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 , experienced management team and established position in the global 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. marketplace. The rating also reflects the company's affiliations with AON Corp. and CNA Financial CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA) is a financial corporation based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and noted for its 600 foot tall red headquarters building there. Its principal subsidiary, Continental Casualty Company (CCC) was founded in 1897. Corp., which provide administrative, actuarial ac·tu·ar·y n. pl. ac·tu·ar·ies A statistician who computes insurance risks and premiums. [Latin , claim, investment services (AON) and underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. services (CNA (Certified NetWare Administrator) See Novell certification. ). Other positive rating factors include management's disciplined multi-line underwriting and opportunistic pricing philosophies, multi-faceted catastrophe modeling
LaSalle Re's senior management has reinsurance expertise, and the company's underwriting department has substantial worldwide experience. Accordingly, the company underwrites conservatively, emphasizes pricing discipline over premium volume and writes risks that provide appropriate risk/return profiles. Management places emphasis on developing client relationships, providing high-quality service, capitalizing on opportunities in non-catastrophe product lines and managing its capital base relative to market conditions. These positive factors are offset by the challenges management faces in profitably expanding its book of business, particularly in light of increasing worldwide property reinsurance capacity and declining premium rates. Because of the company's relatively recent founding in 1993, its overall book of business has not been subjected to a major catastrophic event and, therefore, its underwriting strategies and exposure management techniques have not been fully validated. However, the company has improved its global spread of business, expanded into new lines of property, liability and marine business, and established new subsidiaries to access the London market. Further, management has sought to protect the company's capitalization and liquidity through a $100 million line of credit, an additional $200 million of retrocession RETROCESSION, civil law. When the assignee of heritable rights conveys his rights back to the cedent, it is called a retrocession. Erskine, Prin. B. 3, t. 5, n. 1; Dict. do Jur. h.t. protection, and a $100 million contingent capital option for balance sheet protection. A.M. Best believes that LaSalle Re is well positioned to build its franchise and withstand a number of significant catastrophic events, and therefore, views the company's long-term rating outlook as stable. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is America's oldest and most widely recognized insurance rating and information source. CONTACT: Jeffrey Dunsavage (908) 439-2200, ext. 5618 dunsavj@ambest.com |
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