Fitch Assigns Ratings to PMA Capital Corp.; Sr Debt 'BB+'.Business Editors CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2003 Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has assigned insurer financial strength ratings of 'BBB+' to the primary insurance and 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. underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. subsidiaries of PMA PMA (papillary-marginal-attached), n a system of epidemiologic scoring of periodontal disease devised by Schour and Massler in which the symbols denote the areas involved in gingival inflammation. PMA Progressive muscular atrophy Capital Corp. including lead reinsurance underwriter underwriter n. a company or person which/who underwrites an insurance policy, issue of corporate securities, business, or project. (See: underwrite) UNDERWRITER, insurances. One who signs a policy of insurance, by which he becomes an insurer. PMA Capital Insurance Company (PMA Capital), as well as primary insurance underwriters Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Co., Pennsylvania Manufacturers Indemnity Co. and Manufacturers Alliance Ins. Co. Additionally, Fitch has assigned a 'BB+' senior debt rating to PMA Capital Corp. The Rating Outlook on all ratings is Stable. The ratings reflect a solid position in an improving reinsurance and workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. marketplace, adequate capitalization capitalization n. 1) the act of counting anticipated earnings and expenses as capital assets (property, equipment, fixtures) for accounting purposes. 2) the amount of anticipated net earnings which hypothetically can be used for conversion into capital assets. and financial flexibility, and improving operating results. Ratings also reflect recent disappointing operating performance, adverse reserve development, and a heavy use of reinsurance. PMA Capital Corp. significantly improved its capital base and its financial flexibility through the issuance of $32.5 million in privately placed trust preferred securities in May 2003 and $57.5 million in senior notes issued in June 2003. The proceeds from these issuances were used to pay off PMA Capital Corp.'s relatively restrictive credit facility as well as bolster This article is about the pillow called a bolster. For other meanings of the word "bolster", see bolster (disambiguation). A bolster (etymology: Middle English, derived from Old English, and before that the Germanic word bulgstraz the capital position of the group's operating subsidiaries An operating subsidiary is a business term frequently used within the United States railroad industry. In the case of a railroad, it refers to a company that is a subsidiary but operates with its own identity and rolling stock. . Additional financing can be accessed through a universal shelf registration which PMA Capital Corp. filed for in 2002 that has $106.3 million available for issuance. Fitch believes that the organization's capital base and financial flexibility are sufficient to support the current or higher ratings. Recent operating performance has improved both at the primary insurance subsidiaries as well as at PMA Capital as evidenced by an improvement in the combined ratio through the first half of 2003. Through the first six months of 2003, the combined ratio at the primary insurance subsidiaries further improved to 101.6%. The primary insurance subsidiaries posted a combined ratio of 103.2% in 2002 versus 105.5% in 2001. Similar experience has been seen at the reinsurance subsidiary. PMA Capital recorded combined ratios of 106.4% and 114.2% in 2002 and 2001, respectively. Through the first six months of 2003, the combined ratio at PMA Capital declined further to 98.5%. PMA Capital Corp is an insurance holding company focused on specialty insurance markets. Through their operating subsidiaries, PMA Capital Corp. is a leading provider of property and casualty reinsurance and a regionally focused provider of commercial property and casualty insurance. The primary insurance business has been in operation since 1915 and the reinsurance operations began writing business in 1969. At June 30, 2003, PMA Capital Corp. had total assets of approximately $4.5 billion and shareholders' equity Shareholders' Equity A firms' total assets minus its total liabilities. Equivalently, it is share capital plus retained earnings minus treasury shares. Shareholders' equity is the amount by which a company is financed through common and preferred shares. of approximately $618 million. Entity/Issue/Type Action Rating/Outlook PMA Capital Insurance Company --Insurer financial strength Assign 'BBB+'/Stable. Manufacturers Alliance Insurance Co. --Insurer financial strength Assign 'BBB+'/Stable. Pennsylvania Mfrs. Association Insurance Co. --Insurer financial strength Assign 'BBB+'/Stable. Pennsylvania Manufacturers Indemnity Co. --Insurer financial strength Assign 'BBB+'/Stable. PMA Capital Corp. --Senior Debt Assign 'BB+'/Stable. |
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