BestWeek: Insurers Count More on Outside Actuaries.

OLDWICK, N.J. -- North American insurers increasingly are seeking the services of external or unaffiliated actuarial firms to provide actuarial opinions for annual statutory filings. This is perhaps the most striking change in the data gathered as part of A.M. Best Co.'s 2007 annual review of the accounting and actuarial markets in the United States and Canada as they relate to the insurance industry, which appears in the January 1, 2007 BestWeek.

At work here, according to the report, appears to be some spirit of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with not only companies moving away from the use of internal or affiliated actuarial opinions to the use of independent actuarial firms, but also the survey results show some insurers moving away from using the same firm in both auditing and actuarial functions.

Also in BestWeek, Best's Global Insurance Composite Index finished the week of December 28, 2006 up 13.15% from a year ago. The composite index reflects the performance of 185 insurance stocks. The week's top performers were Penn Treaty American; KMG America; China Insurance International Holdings; CNA Surety; and Independence Holding. The bottom five performers were NIPPONKOA Insurance; Specialty Underwriters' Alliance; Baldwin & Lyons; Aioi Insurance; and Millea Holdings.

BestWeek is published by A.M. Best for insurance professionals. To subscribe, please call A.M. Best's customer service department at [phone], ext. 5742, or e-mail your request to [e-mail].

A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at www.ambest.com.