Best's Rating Changes.This summary of Best's Rating 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. Changes lists life/health, property/casualty and international insurers, as well as health maintenance organizations, that had ratings assigned as·sign tr.v. as·signed, as·sign·ing, as·signs 1. To set apart for a particular purpose; designate: assigned a day for the inspection. 2. , changed or placed under review since this section last appeared in the March 2001 edition of Best's Review. Best's Rating Changes is an abbreviated version of Best's Rating Monitor. Previously a stand-alone (jargon) stand-alone - Capable of operating without other programs, libraries, computers, hardware, networks, etc. Exactly what is absent is presumed to be obvious from context. "We only run Windows on stand-alone PCs because it's too dangerous to run it on networked ones." publication, Best's Rating Monitor is now a featured section in BestWeek, A.M. Best Co.'s weekly news report. Best's Rating Monitor contains a compilation Compiling a program. See compiler. of all recent rating releases plus supporting rationales for the industry's largest insurance groups and for insurers whose ratings were changed or placed under review. For more information on how to obtain A.M. Best Co. products and publications, including Best's Ratings and Best's Company Reports for individual companies, see page 135. See page 23 for the Current Guide to Best's Ratings and the August 2000 edition of Best's Review for the Detailed Rating Definitions page.
LIFE/HEALTH
Rating Current
Action Company State AMB# Rating
- American Community Mutual Ins MI 06044 C++
New American Industries Family Life TX 68262 FPR 3
-U American States Life Ins Co IN 06105 A gu
New Arkansas National Life Ins Co AR 07507 FPR 5
New Axa Corporate Solutions Life Re DE 09083 A+
- Catholic Knights Ins Society WI 08188 A-
+ Enterprise Life Ins Co TX 08919 B+
- Farm Bureau Life Ins Co of MO MO 06364 A-
-U First Safeco Natl Life of NY NY 68147 A gu
New Hawaii Medical Service Assoc HI 64035 A
New Oxford Health Ins Inc NY 60022 A-
-U Safeco Life Ins Co WA 07017 A gu
New Senior American Life Insurance Co PA 60294 B+
New Standard Life Insurance of NY NY 60342 A g
Rating Prior
Action Rating
- B-
New NR-2
-U A+ g
New NR-3
New NR-3
- A
+ B
- A
-U A+ g
New NR-5
New FPR 4
-U A+ g
New FPR 6
New NR-5
HMO
Rating Current Prior
Action Company State AMB# Rating Rating
- GHS Health Maintenance Org OK 68932 B++ A-
New Health Plan Hawaii HI 64226 A NR-5
New Methodist Care Inc TX 64240 B++ NR-5
New Oxford Health Plans (CT) Inc CT 68933 A- B- q
New Oxford Health Plans (NY) Inc NY 68716 A- B q
New Premier Health Inc KS 64072 A- NR-2
PROPERTY/CASUALTY
Rating Current Prior
Action Company State AMB# Rating Rating
New Agrinational Insurance Co VT 56005 A- NR-5
-U American Economy Insurance Co IN 02286 A Pu A+ p
+ American Fire & Indemnity Co TX 02036 A r B r
+ American Hardware Mut Ins Co OH 00132 A p A- p
+ American Indemnity Co TX 02037 A r B g
+ American Indemnity Lloyds TX 01775 A r B r
-U American Interstate Ins Co LA 03585 A- Pu A p
+ American Merchants Casualty Co OH 00699 A p A- p
-U American States Insurance Co IN 02287 A pu A+ p
-U American States Ins Co of TX TX 02290 A ru A+ r
-U American States Lloyds Ins Co TX 03610 A ru A+ r
-U American States Preferred Ins IN 02289 A pu A+ p
-U Amerisafe Insurance Group LA 18211 A- u A
- California Compensation Ins Co CA 00224 F E
- Combined Benefits Ins Co CA 11772 F E
- Commercial Compensation Ins NY 12065 F E
U Consolidated Prop & Cas Ins Co FL 10805 B u B u
- Discovery Insurance Co NC 11631 C+ B
- Employers Security Ins Co IN 11404 B+ A-
-U First National Ins Co of Amer WA 02446 A pu A+ p
New Florida Family Mutual Ins Co FL 11975 B+ NR-2
-U General Ins Co of America WA 02447 A pu A+ p
New GMAC Direct Insurance Co MO 12415 A+ r NR-5
New GMAC Insurance Online Inc MO 12403 A+ r NR-5
U Hermitage Insurance Co NY 01969 B gu B gu
U Hermitage Insurance Group NY 18440 B u B u
- International Indemnity Co GA 03709 F B
New Kentucky National Ins Co KY 03579 B++p FPR 3
U Kodiak Insurance Co NJ 10620 B u B u
U Legion Indemnity Co IL 11860 A- Pu A- p
U Legion Insurance Co PA 02352 A- Pu A- p
U Legion Insurance Group PA 18366 A-u A-
+ Motorists Insurance Group OH 18236 A A-
+ Motorists Mutual Insurance Co OH 00652 A p A- p
- National Auto & Cas Ins Co CA 02348 B- B
U North Pointe Insurance Co MI 00317 B u B gu
New Piedmont Mutual Insurance Co NC 11575 C++ FPR 2
- Queensway Casualty Ins Co FL 11258 F E
- Reliance Direct Insurance Co PA 12074 E D p
- Reliance Insurance Co PA 02419 E D p
- Reliance Insurance Co of IL IL 04271 E D p
- Reliance Lloyds TX 02716 E D r
- Reliance National Indemnity Co WI 02417 E D p
- Reliance National Ins Co DE 10636 E D p
- Reliance Surety Co DE 11213 E D r
- Reliance Universal Ins Co Inc CA 11310 E D p
- Reliant Insurance Co MI 12132 E D p
New Rutgers Casualty Ins Group NJ 18507 B++ NR-5
- Sable Insurance Co CA 12043 E D r
-U Safeco Insurance Cos WA 00078 A u A+
-U Safeco Ins Co of America WA 02448 A pu A+ p
-U Safeco Ins Co of Illinois IL 02709 A pu A+ p
-U Safeco Lloyds Insurance Co TX 01896 A ru A+ r
-U Safeco National Insurance Co MO 04240 A pu A+ p
-U Safeco Surplus Lines Ins Co WA 01867 A ru A+ r
- Security Indemnity Ins Co NJ 10420 B++ B++
-U Silver Oak Casualty Inc LA 11324 A- pu A p
- Sun States Insurance Group GA 02908 F E
- Superior National Insurance Co CA 02635 F E
- Superior Pacific Casualty Co CA 00321 F E
+ Texas General Indemnity Co CO 02038 A r B r
- United Pacific Insurance Co PA 02537 E D p
- United Pacific Ins Co of NY NY 03798 E D r
New United States Surety Co MD 12009 B+ NR-2
U Universal Fire & Casualty Co IN 03663 B- u B- u
U Villanova Insurance Co PA 12110 A- pu A- p
New Western Specialty Insurance Co IL 10630 FPR 4 NR-2
INTERNATIONAL
Rating
Action Company AMB#
Bahamas
New British Fidelity Assurance Ltd. 87843
Barbados
U Mutual Indemnity (Barbados) Ltd. 85819
Bermuda
+ ACE Tempest Reinsurance Co Ltd. 86198
U The I.P.C. Group 85317
U Mutual Indemnity Ltd. 85845
U Mutual Indemnity (Bermuda) Ltd. 86288
U Mutual Indemnity (U.S.) Ltd. 85846
+ Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. 86357
Ireland
U Mutual Indemnity (Dublin) Ltd. 86077
+ Renaissance Reinsurance of Europe 87847
Luxembourg
New The West England Ship Owners
Mutual Insurance Association
(Luxembourp) 84144
Sweden
New ERIKA Insurance Ltd (publ) 87809
United Kingdom
New Alliance and Leicester Life Assurance
Co Ltd. 87212
New Century Life plc 87269
New Direct Line Life Insurance Co Ltd. 87317
New Eurolife Assurance Co Ltd. 87337
+ Fleming Life Ltd. 87349
New Halifax Life Ltd. 87377
U Independent Insurance Co Ltd. 85515
New Nationwide Life Ltd. 87482
New Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd. 85946
- Prudential Pensions Ltd. 87546
- Reliance National Insurance Co
(Europe) Ltd. 86674
+ Save & Prosper Insurance Ltd. 87573
New SLC Pooled Pensions Ltd. 87598
Trinidad And Tobago
New Guardian Life of the Caribbean Ltd. 84191
Rating Current Prior
Action Rating Rating
Bahamas
New B+ NR-5
Barbados
U A- gu A- g
Bermuda
+ A+ g A
U A- u A-
U A- gu A- g
U A- gu A- g
U A- gu A- g
+ A+ g A
Ireland
U A- gu A- g
+ A+ r A r
Luxembourg
New
A NR-5
Sweden
New A- NR-5
United Kingdom
New
B+ q NR-5
New B q NR-5
New B+ q NR-5
New B q NR-5
+ B+ q B q
New A- q NR-5
U A u A
New B+ q NR-5
New B++ q NR-5
- A- q A q
-
E D
+ B++ q B+ q
New B++ q NR-5
Trinidad And Tobago
New A NR-5
Rating Action:
(+) or (-) Rating upgraded or downgraded;
(New) Assigned initial rating;
(U) Rating placed under review.
CURRENT GUIDE TO BEST'S RATINGS For a complete explanation of Best's Ratings, please refer to the Preface pref·ace n. 1. a. A preliminary statement or essay introducing a book that explains its scope, intention, or background and is usually written by the author. b. An introductory section, as of a speech. 2. of Best's Insurance Reports [R], Best's Key Rating Guide [R] or Best's Key Rating and Statistical Guide. Best's Ratings reflect our independent opinion, but are not a warranty An assurance, promise, or guaranty by one party that a particular statement of fact is true and may be relied upon by the other party. Warranties are used in a variety of commercial situations. In many instances a business may voluntarily make a warranty. of a company's financial strength and ability to meet its obligations to policyholders. BEST'S RATINGS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE RATINGS See benchmark. (FPR FPR Ford Performance Racing FPR Front Patriotique Rwandais (Rwanda Patriotic Front) FPR Floating-Point Register (CPU architecture) FPR Fuel Pressure Regulator (automotive) ) A.M. Best assigns Individuals to whom property is, will, or may be transferred by conveyance, will, Descent and Distribution, or statute; assignees. The term assigns is often found in deeds; for example, "heirs, administrators, and assigns to denote the assignable nature of to insurance related organizations one of two types of rating opinions, a Best's Rating (A++ to F) or a Financial Performance Rating (9 to 1). The Best's Rating represents an opinion based on a comprehensive quantitative quantitative /quan·ti·ta·tive/ (kwahn´ti-ta?tiv) 1. denoting or expressing a quantity. 2. relating to the proportionate quantities or to the amount of the constituents of a compound. and qualitative qualitative /qual·i·ta·tive/ (kwahl´i-ta?tiv) pertaining to quality. Cf. quantitative. qualitative pertaining to observations of a categorical nature, e.g. breed, sex. evaluation of a company's balance sheet strength and operating performance. The FPR represents an opinion based primarily on a quantitative evaluation of a company's financial strength and operating performance for companies that do not meet the minimum size and/or and/or conj. Used to indicate that either or both of the items connected by it are involved. Usage Note: And/or is widely used in legal and business writing. operating experience requirements for a Best's Rating. Secure Best's Ratings A++ and A+ Superior A and A- Excellent B++ and B+ Very Good Vulnerable Best's Ratings B and B- Fair C++ and C+ Marginal C and C- Weak D Poor E Under Regulatory Supervision F In Liquidation S Rating Suspended Secure FPR Ratings FPR 9 Very Strong FPR 8 and 7 Strong FPR 6 and 5 Good Vulnerable FPR Ratings FPR 4 Fair FPR 3 Marginal FPR 2 Weak FPR 1 Poor RATING MODIFIERS and AFFILIATION affiliation (  fil´ēā´sh CODESUnder Review (u) Rating Modifiers are assigned to Best's Ratings and Financial Performance Ratings to identify companies whose rating opinions are Under Review and may be subject to near-term near-term adj. Of, for, or involving a short period of time in the near future. change. Qualified (q) Rating Modifiers may be assigned to Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Canadian Canadian (kənā`dēən), river, 906 mi (1,458 km) long, rising in NE New Mexico. and flowing E across N Texas and central Oklahoma into the Arkansas River in E Oklahoma. insurers and UK insurers that meet the minimum size and operating experience requirements for a Best's Rating but do not subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; our interactive rating process. Best's Qualified Ratings are therefore based primarily on a quantitative analysis Quantitative Analysis A security analysis that uses financial information derived from company annual reports and income statements to evaluate an investment decision. Notes: of a company's balance sheet strength and operating performance. Affiliation Codes are based on a Group (g), Pooling (p) or 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. (r) affiliation with other insurers. Rating Modifiers u - Under Review q - Qualified g - Group p - Pooled r - Reinsured NOT RATED CATEGORIES (NR) Companies not assigned a Best's Rating or FPR are assigned to one of five NR categories which identifies the primary reason a rating opinion was not assigned to the company. For additional information, refer to the Preface. NR-1 Insufficient in·suf·fi·cient adj. 1. Not sufficient. 2. Incapable of proper functioning. Data NR-2 Insufficient Size and/or Operating Experience NR-3 Rating Procedure Inapplicable in·ap·pli·ca·ble adj. Not applicable: rules inapplicable to day students. in·ap NR-4 Company Request NR-5 Not Formally Followed FINANCIAL SIZE CATEGORIES (FSC FSC See: Foreign Sales Corporation ) Assigned to all insurance companies and reflects their size based on their capital, surplus and conditional Subject to change; dependent upon or granted based on the occurrence of a future, uncertain event. A conditional payment is the payment of a debt or obligation contingent upon the performance of a certain specified act. reserve funds in millions of U.S. dollars, using the scale below. For additional information, refer to the Preface. FSC I less than 1 FSC II 1 to 2 FSC III 2 to 5 FSC IV 5 to 10 FSC V 10 to 25 FSC VI 25 to 50 FSC VII 50 to 100 FSC VIII 100 to 250 FSC IX 250 to 500 FSC X 500 to 750 FSC XI 750 to 1,000 FSC XII 1,000 to 1,250 FSC XIII 1,250 to 1,500 FSC XIV 1,500 to 2,000 FSC XV greater than 2,000 How to obtain the latest Best's Ratings For the latest Best's Ratings and Best's Company Reports *+ All rating actions are published in Rating Monitor section of (which include Best's Ratings) visit the A.M. Best web site BestWeek(r). Selected rating changes and new ratings are at www.ambest.com. You may also obtain Best's Company published in Best's Review(r) (our monthly magazine). Reports by calling our Customer Service Department at 908- 439-2200, ext. 5742. To expedite ex·pe·dite tr.v. ex·pe·dit·ed, ex·pe·dit·ing, ex·pe·dites 1. To speed up the progress of; accelerate. 2. your request, please provide the company's identification number (AMB AMB Ambient AMB Ambassador AMB Amber AMB Ambulance AMB Associação Médica Brasileira (Brazil) AMB Ambulatory AMB Advanced Memory Buffer (FBDIMM control unit on DRAM) #). * All rating actions are published in Rating Monitor section of BestWeek[R]. Selected rating changes and new ratings are published in Best's Review[R] (our monthly magazine). |
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