A.M. Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of Western Life Assurance Company; Affirms Financial Strength Rating.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed af·firm v. af·firmed, af·firm·ing, af·firms v.tr. 1. To declare positively or firmly; maintain to be true. 2. To support or uphold the validity of; confirm. v.intr. 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 B++ (Good) and upgraded 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. ) to "bbb+" from "bbb" of Western Life Assurance Company (Western Life) (High River, Alberta High River is a town in southwestern Alberta, Canada with a population of 10,716. (2006). It is km ( mi) south of the city of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. ). The outlook for both ratings is stable. The ICR upgrade reflects Western Life's steadily increasing level of premium production and earnings, as well as its sound capitalization. Profitability in its core business lines has led to a very good risk-adjusted capital level. The company's transition to its new ownership under Western Financial Group Inc. presents increased business opportunities, and elevated business production is expected from affiliated distribution going forward, which is reflected in the upgraded ICR. Offsetting the positive rating factors are the challenges associated with achieving greater market share in the Canadian arena due to competition in the group and the individual accident and sickness market. Despite recent growth, Western Life has yet to achieve meaningful economies of scale. In addition, Western Life's parent's strategy of acquisitions has historically generated considerable levels of leverage and intangibles. For Best's Ratings Best's rating A rating A.M. Best Co. assigns to insurance companies based on the company's ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders. , 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 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. industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
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