A.M. Best Downgrades Issuer Credit Ratings of Primerica Life Insurance Company and Its Subsidiaries.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 downgraded the issuer credit ratings (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. ) to "aa-" from "aa" of Primerica Life Insurance Company (PLIC PLIC Piecewise Linear Interface Calculation PLIC Pseudolikelihood Information Criterion PLIC Piecewise Linear Interface Reconstruction PLIC Partitioned Linear Interference Canceler PLIC Provincial Land Information Council PLIC Progressive Lossless Image Coding ) (Boston, MA) and its subsidiaries, National Benefit Life Insurance Company (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 , NY) and Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada (Mississauga, Ontario For the First Nation, see . Mississauga (pronounced: [ˌmɪsɪˈsɑgə] listen ) (collectively known as Primerica Life). The outlook for all ratings is stable. These companies are currently indirect insurance subsidiaries of Citigroup, Inc. (Citigroup) (Delaware) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : C). The rating action reflects the fact that the credit profile of Citigroup can no longer support the rating enhancement previously afforded to Primerica Life under A.M. Best's methodology for rating members of insurance groups. Additionally, Citigroup has announced plans to opportunistically sell off assets of Citi Holdings, a recently formed operating segment comprised of non-core businesses that include Primerica Life. This public declaration that Primerica Life is no longer a strategically integral component of Citigroup's ongoing operations would also preclude it from receiving rating enhancement from Citigroup. As a result, the published ratings of PLIC and its subsidiaries now reflect PLIC's stand-alone credit profile. The ratings of Primerica Life reflect its continued profitable operations, leading position in the U.S. term life insurance marketplace, strong risk-adjusted capitalization and favorable liquidity profile. Primerica Life is one of the largest writers of term life insurance in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , and its strong market position is attributable to its dedicated distribution affiliate, Primerica Financial Services Primerica Financial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup, is a multi-level marketing[1] company headquartered in Duluth, Georgia. It is the largest financial services marketing organization in North America, with more than 100,000 licensed independent , Inc. (PFS PFS, n post facilitation stretch; therapeutic approach utilized during proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation in which the patient begins the stretch midway between the fully relaxed and fully stretched position and uses maximum level of effort to ). This integrated distribution and operating platform includes nearly 100,000 life agents and is the primary driver of the insurance unit's excellent operating performance. Partially offsetting these strengths is Primerica Life's operational concentration in commodity term life insurance products and the competitive challenges inherent in the U.S. individual insurance market. Primerica Life's focus on term life insurance products results in concentration risk, as this product line is price-sensitive and profits primarily are based on mortality gains. Additionally, A.M. Best believes that the company's reliance on part-time agents heightens its exposure to market conduct risks. A.M. Best also notes that should an agreement of sale ultimately be reached for Primerica Life, future rating actions would reflect, among other things, the relative financial strength of the acquiring organization, its post acquisition risk-based capital levels and the materiality MATERIALITY. That which is important; that which is not merely of form but of substance. 2. When a bill for discovery has been filed, for example, the defendant must answer every material fact which is charged in the bill, and the test in these cases seems to of its revenue and earnings contributions to its new parent. For Best's Credit Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings. The principal methodologies used in determining these ratings, including any additional methodologies and factors, which may have been considered, can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology. Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
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