A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Fidelity National Financial Group's Title Companies; Revises Outlook to Stable.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has upgraded 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. ) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and 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 "a" from "a-" of Fidelity National Financial Group's (Fidelity) (Jacksonville, FL) eight title insurance subsidiaries. In addition, A.M. Best has upgraded the ICR to "bbb" from "bbb-" of the parent holding company, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (Jacksonville, FL) [NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : FNF FNF Fidelity National Financial FNF File Not Found FNF Friedrich Naumann Foundation FNF Forgiven, Not Forgotten FnF Frags'n'fries (Battlefield gaming clan) FNF Fastest Node First (algorithm) ]. The outlook for all ratings has been revised to stable from positive. The ratings reflect Fidelity's solid capitalization, favorable operating results, strong market profile as one of the largest title insurance groups in the United States and significantly reduced financial leverage at the holding company. These positive rating factors are somewhat offset by Fidelity's challenge to manage future economic cycles and inherent risks with managing significant premium growth in recent years. Additionally, the slowdown in the U.S. housing markets in 2006 continuing into 2007 have the potential of negatively impacting title insurance underwriting margins. However, Fidelity does possess a flexible cost structure, which is expected to help mitigate this effect. Fidelity's rating outlook is based on the title group's solid capitalization, favorable 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 and leading market position. The FSR of A- (Excellent) has been upgraded to A (Excellent) and the ICRs of "a-" have been upgraded to "a" for the following members of Fidelity National Financial Group: * Alamo Alamo Eighteenth-century mission in San Antonio, Texas, site of a historic siege of a small group of Texans by a Mexican army (1836) during the Texas war for independence from Mexico. Title Insurance * Chicago Title Insurance Company of Oregon * Chicago Title Insurance Company * Fidelity National Title Insurance Company * National Title Insurance of 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 , Inc. * Security Union Title Insurance Company * Ticor Title Insurance Company of Florida * Ticor Title Insurance Company The ICR of "bbb-" has been upgraded to "bbb" for Fidelity National Financial, Inc. The FSR of A- (Excellent) and the ICRs of "a-" have been affirmed for the following property/casualty members of Fidelity National Group: * Fidelity National Insurance Company * Fidelity National Indemnity Insurance indemnity insurance Managed care A type of health insurance in which a Pt can choose the hospital and provider, and the insurer reimburses the Pt or provider for a set percentage of the cost, minus deductibles and co-payments Company * Fidelity National Property and Casualty Insurance Company For Best's Ratings, 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 industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion