Agricultural Insurance Co. Assigned `Api' Rtg by S&P Great American Insurance Co.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 1998--Standard & Poor's today assigned its single-`Api' insurer financial strength rating to Agricultural Insurance Co. The company is licensed in all U.S. states A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States, although four states use the official title "commonwealth". The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and and the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). . The company commenced operations in 1905. Agricultural Insurance is a member of American Financial Group, a large group engaged primarily in specialty and multi-line property and casualty insurance businesses, and in the sale of tax-deferred annuities tax-deferred annuity See tax-sheltered annuity (TSA). and certain life and health insurance products. The company also is a member of the Great American inter-affiliate pool, which is comprised of Great American Insurance Co. (single-`Api' rating) and 11 of its subsidiaries. The pool's major lines of business include commercial multiple peril The designated contingency, risk, or hazard against which an insured seeks to protect himself or herself when purchasing a policy of insurance. Among the various types of perils for which insurance coverage is available are fire, theft, illness, and death. PERIL. and workers compensation. The following factors were incorporated in the single-`Api' rating: --Standard & Poor's believes the company is a core member of the Great American Pool, and it is therefore assigned the rating assigned to pool members. -- The pool is well diversified diversified (di·verˑ·s , both geographically and by line of business. -- Profitability is strong, with return on revenue for 1997 of 12.8%. -- The pool's capital adequacy ratio Capital adequacy ratio (CAR), also called Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR)[], is a ratio of a bank's capital to its risk. National regulators track a bank's CAR to ensure that it can absorb a reasonable amount of loss. of 134.4% limits the rating to single-`Api'. -- The pool has substantial investments in common stocks, amounting to 118% of surplus, including investments in a number of affiliated insurance companies. Ratings denoted with a 'pi' subscript (1) In word processing and scientific notation, a digit or symbol that appears below the line; for example, H2O, the symbol for water. Contrast with superscript. (2) In programming, a method for referencing data in a table. are insurer financial strength ratings based on an analysis of published financial information and additional information in the public domain. The ratings do not reflect in-depth meetings with an insurer's management nor do they incorporate material nonpublic information Nonpublic information Information about a company that is not known by the general public, which will have a definite impact on the stock price when released. See: Insider trading. , and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a pi subscript. Pi ratings are reviewed annually based on a new year's financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event that may affect an insurer's financial security occurs. The pi rating process covers U.S insurers to which Standard & Poor's previously assigned quantitative (`q') ratings, and may include information beyond that used to derive the previous quantitative-only ratings. Pi ratings are not modified with 'plus' or 'minus' designations, nor are they subject to potential CreditWatch listings, Standard & Poor's said. Copyright 1998, Standard & Poor's Rating Services
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