Best's Rating Changes.This summary of Best's Rating Best's ratingA 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 2000 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 Best's Viewpoint, a new publication available as a supplement to 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 comprehensive ratings and company information, free of charge, visit www.ambest.com/ratings/access.html. 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 159. See page 27 for the Current Guide to Best's Ratings and the August 1999 edition of Best's Review for the Detailed Rating Definitions page.
LIFE/HEALTH
Rating Current Effective Prior
Action Company AMB# Rating Date Rating
+ AGL Life Assurance
Company PA 07142 A g 01/17/00 B++
U American-Amicable Life
Ins TX TX 09122 B+ u 01/14/00 B+ u
-U American Memorial Life
Ins Co SD 06942 B++ u 01/17/00 A
U Bankers Life Ins Co
of NY NY 06467 A u 01/13/00 A
- Central National Life
of Omaha DE 06201 A- r 01/05/00 A
+ Cova Financial Life Ins
Co CA 08402 A 01/07/00 B gu
+ Cova Financial Services
Life MO 09075 A 01/07/00 B gu
+ Employers Reassurance
Corp KS 06976 A++ g 01/28/00 A+
+ ERC Life Reinsurance
Corp MO 08928 A++ g 01/28/00 A
+ First Cove Life Ins
Co NY 06119 A 01/07/00 B gu
+ General American Life
Ins Co MO 06439 A 01/07/00 B gu
+ General Life Insurance
Co TX 08653 A 01/07/00 B gu
+ General Life Insurance
of Amer IL 60066 A 01/07/00 B gu
New Harbourton Reassur Inc
DE 08785 A- g 01/31/00 FPR 4
U IL Annuity and Ins Co
MA 07407 A u 01/13/00 A
U Indianapolis Life Ins
Co IN 06552 A u 01/13/00 A g
+ Life Insurance Co of
Alabama AL 06637 B+ 01/12/00 B
- Mid-South Ins Co NC 08350 B+ 01/26/00 A-
U NN Life Ins Co of
Canada ON 66804 A- u 01/10/00 A-
+ North Coast Life Ins
Co WA 06837 B- 01/28/00 C++
U Occidental Life Ins Co
of NC TX 06849 B+ u 01/14/00 B+ U
+ Paragon Life Insurance
Co MO 09079 A 01/07/00 B gu
+ Philadelphia American
Life Ins TX 09166 B+ g 01/13/00 B
U Pioneer American Ins
Co TX 06929 B+ u 01/14/00 B+ u
U Pioneer Security Life
Ins Co TX 06935 B+ u 01/14/00 B+ u
+ RGA Reinsurance Company
MO 09080 A 01/07/00 B++u
-U Rushmore National Life
Ins Co SD 07014 FPR 6 u 01/17/00 FPR 7
+ Security Equity Life Ins
Co NY 09410 A 01/07/00 B gu
U Security Life and Trust
Ins Co TX 07032 B+ u 01/14/00 B+ u
U Southwestern Life Ins
Co TX 07063 B+ u 01/14/00 B+ u
U Western Security Life
Ins Co AZ 07597 A u 01/13/00 A
PROPERTY/CASUALTY
Rating Current Effective Prior
Action Company AMB # Rating Date Rating
New American Independent Ins Co PA 04969 C++ 01/19/00 NR-3
+ Citation Insurance Co MA 02851 A+ g 01/20/00 A g
+ Commerce Group, Inc MA 02966 A+ 01/20/00 A
+ Commerce Insurance Co MA 04663 A+ g 01/20/00 A g
+ Commerce West Ins Co CA 03131 A 01/20/00 A-
New Evergreen USA RRG, Inc VT 11155 B+ 01/14/00 NR-2
U Folksamerica Reins Co NY 02642 A u 01/18/00 A u
New GE Global Insurance Group KS 25025 A++ g 01/28/00 NR-5
+ GE Reinsurance Corp IL 04124 A++ g 01/28/00 A u
U Health Care Insurance Co NJ 03671 B+ gu 01/12/00 B+ g
+ Holyoke Mutual Ins Co MA 00480 A+ p 01/20/00 A- u
+ Leatherstocking Coop Ins Co NY 11250 B++ 01/31/00 B+
+ Louisiana Work Comp Corp LA 11339 A- 01/21/00 B++
+ North East Insurance Co ME 03108 B g 01/28/00 B- gu
+ North East Insurance Group ME 02974 B 01/28/00 B- u
U Princeton Insurance Companies NJ 05650 B+ u 01/12/00 B+
U Princeton Insurance Company NJ 02873 A- u 01/12/00 A-
U Risk Capital Reinsurance Co NE 11791 A- u 01/18/00 A-
+ Rock River Insurance Co IL 00812 A+ r 01/27/00 A pu
+ Sentry Casualty Company IL 03588 A+ r 01/27/00 A pu
+ Sentry Select Insurance Co IL 02224 A+ p 01/27/00 A pu
+ Vesta County Mutual Ins Co TX 04286 A++ r 01/28/00 B r
New Westport Insurance Corp MO 02301 A++ g 01/28/00 A++g
- Texas Hospital Ins Exchange TX 03650 C++ 01/14/00 B+
Rating Action: (+) or (-) Rating
upgraded or downgraded; (New) Assigned
initial rating; (U) Rating placed under
review.
Effective Date: Represents effective
date of Rating Action.
HMOs
Rating Current Effective Prior
Action Company AMB # Rating Date Rating
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care MA 68973 E 01/05/00 B q
New HealthGuard of Lancaster, Inc PA 68714 A- 01/24/00 NR-5
INTERNATIONAL
Rating Current
Action Company AMB # Country Rating
- Arig Insurance Company Limited 86158 United Kingdom B+
U Arig Reinsurance Company BSC 86938 Bahrain A u
U Corp MAPFRE Cia Intl Reasegur 85419 Spain A + u
+ ERC Francona Rueckver AG CAB 87041 Canada A++ g
+ ERC Frankona Group 88108 Germany A++ g
+ ERC Frankona Reassur Ltd 86653 United Kingdom A++ g
+ ERC Frankona Reinsurance A/S 85501 Denmark A++ g
+ ERC Frankona Reinsurance 86181 United Kingdom A++ g
+ ERC Frankona Reinsurance Ltd 86655 United Kingdom A++ g
+ ERC Frankona Ruckversicherungs-AG 85311 Germany A++ g
U Folksamerica Reins Co CAB 87035 Canada A gu
New Forsikringsaktieselskabet KaB 87125 Denmark A-
+ Irish European Reins Co Ltd 86848 Ireland A++ g
+ Luxembourg European Reins 86847 Luxembourg A++ g
New Max Re Ltd 87119 Bermuda A-
-U Monegasque de Reassurances 86909 Monaco B++ gu
-U Reinsurance Australia Corp 86440 Australia B++ gu
-U Reinsurance Australia Corp Grp 86906 Australia B++ u
New Scottish Mutual Assurance PIc 87585 United Kingdom A+
New Steamship Mutual Undr Assoc 87133 Bermunda A
Rating Effective Prior
Action Date Rating
- 01/07/00 A g
U 01/07/00 A
U 01/28/00 A+ g
+ 01/28/00 A+ g
+ 01/28/00 A+
+ 01/28/00 A+ g
+ 01/28/00 A+ g
+ 01/28/00 A u
+ 01/28/00 A+ g
+ 01/28/00 A+ g
U 01/18/00 A g
New 01/05/00 NR-5
+ 01/28/00 A+ g
+ 01/28/00 A+ g
New 01/05/00 NR-5
-U 01/19/00 A- g
-U 01/19/00 A- g
-U 01/19/00 A-
New 01/07/00 NR-5
New 01/18/00 NR-5
Rating Action: (+) or (-) Rating upgraded or
downgraded; (New) Assigned initial rating;
(U) Rating placed under review.
Effective Date: Represents effective date of
Rating Action.
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) or Best's Key Rating Guide(R). 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, 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) ) AND QUALIFIED RATINGS 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 companies one of three types of rating opinions, a Best's Rating (A++ to F), a Financial Performance Rating (9 to 1), or a Qualified Rating (A++ to F denoted with a "q" 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. ). 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 financial strength, operating performance and market profile. 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 A.M. Best's minimum requirements in 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. Qualified Ratings are assigned to Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and U.K. insurers that meet our minimum size and operating experience requirements 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. The Qualified Rating is therefore based on the 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 the companies financial strength, operating performance and market profile. 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 CODESRating Modifiers are assigned to Best's Ratings and Financial Performance Ratings to identify companies whose rating opinions are Under Review (u) and may be subject to near-term near-term adj. Of, for, or involving a short period of time in the near future. change; or Qualified (q) which may be assigned to HMOs and U.K. insurers whose ratings are based solely on quantitative analysis. 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 Affiliation Codes 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 Data
NR-2 Insufficient Size and/or Operating Experience
NR-3 Rating Procedure Inapplicable
NR-4 Company Request
NR-5 Not Formally Followed
FINANCIAL SIZE CATEGORIES (FSC)
Assigned to all companies and reflects their size
based on their capital, surplus and conditional
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 (which include Best's Ratings) visit the A.M. Best web site at www.ambest.com. You may also obtain Best's Company 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 Best's Rating Monitor (our most timely and complete release of ratings in print). Selected rating changes and new ratings are published in BestWeek(R) and Best's Review(R) (our monthly magazine). |
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