Latest AM Best Headlines

All the headlines from our AM Best Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Insurers’ Asbestos Payments in 2016 Topped $3 Billion

Nov 30 2017 // While U.S. asbestos-related incurred losses dropped in 2016, property/casualty insurers’ payments for asbestos claims grew 9 percent and hit $3.2 billion for the year, a new A.M. Best report concludes.The $3.2...

Reinsurance Sector’s Share of Hurricane, Quake Losses Is $20B-$25B: A.M. Best

Nov 20 2017 // Cumulative net catastrophe losses for reinsurance companies from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, along with the Mexico earthquakes, are between $20 billion-$25 billion out of an overall industry loss of $90 billion,...

Credit Ratings of Michigan’s Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Co. Withdrawn

Nov 16 2017 // A.M. Best has withdrawn the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a+”, each with a stable outlook, of Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Co. (Great Lakes) in Grand...

Carriers, Reinsurers Under Review as A.M. Best Changes Credit Rating Methodology

Oct 17 2017 // Insurance rating agency A.M. Best announced the publication of the updated Best’s Credit Rating Methodology (BCRM) on Friday, and also announced the names of several insurance and reinsurance groups that the rating...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Positive for Insurance Company of the West

Oct 6 2017 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of Insurance Company of the West and its...

Florida’s Tower Hill Prime Gets Revised Outlooks to Negative From A.M. Best

Oct 4 2017 // A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and Long Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” of Tower Hill Prime Insurance Co.,...

A.M. Best Upgrades Credit Rating of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Group in Iowa

Oct 3 2017 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of “A” of Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and...

A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies

Oct 2 2017 // Hurricane Irma represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the financial wherewithal of some local and regional carriers in Florida, particularly those that are...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Pennsylvania’s Eastern Atlantic Insurance

Oct 2 2017 // A.M. Best has revised its outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” for Harrisburg, Pa.-based Eastern Atlantic...

A.M. Best Assigns A- Rating to Oklahoma’s Trisura Specialty Insurance

Sep 29 2017 // A.M. Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” to Trisura Specialty Insurance Co. (Trisura Specialty), based in Oklahoma City. The ratings...

Global Reinsurers to Bear ‘Significant Share’ of Hurricane Maria Claims: A.M. Best

Sep 28 2017 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said it expects a significant share of the loss from Hurricane Maria to pass on to the global reinsurers evenly.The agency said it expects the loss would remain within the overall risk tolerance of...

A.M. Best Lowers Ratings for Transportation Insurer Canal Insurance of South Carolina

Sep 28 2017 // Canal Insurance Co., a family-owned insurer focused on commercial trucking and specialty transportation, is dealing with a ratings downgrade from A.M. Best.A.M. Best knocked down the A- (Excellent) financial strength...

Workers’ Compensation Insurers Report Slow Growth: A.M. Best

Sep 27 2017 // The workers’ compensation industry reported a record high $58.5 billion in direct premiums written in 2016 but year-after-year growth slowed for the first time in five years.According to an A.M. Best report, the...

A.M. Best Upgrades Prime Insurance Company with an A Rating

Sep 26 2017 // Chicago, Illinois, Salt Lake City, Utah and Naples, Florida, September 26, 2017- Prime Insurance Company announced today that A.M. Best Co. has upgraded their financial strength rating from A- to A “excellent”...

AIG Restructures Again; Commercial Lines CEO Schimek to Leave

Sep 25 2017 // American International Group is reorganizing its underwriting businesses into three main segments—General Insurance, Life & Retirement, and a standalone technology-enabled platform—the company announced today.The...

A.M. Best Upgrades Credit Rating for Columbia Lloyds Companies

Sep 21 2017 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb+” from “bbb” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) of Columbia Lloyds Insurance Co. and...

A.M. Best Warns on Hurricane Maria Impact on Caribbean/Puerto Rican Insurers

Sep 20 2017 // Many insurers and reinsurers in the Caribbean and in Puerto Rico will be tested as they brace for Hurricane Maria, the second hurricane to hit the region in two weeks, according to ratings agency A.M. Best.Hurricane Maria...

A.M. Best: Hurricane Irma to Test Florida Market Newbies

Sep 18 2017 // Although insured losses as a result of Hurricane Irma will not be as severe as originally forecast, the storm still represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the...

Ratings of Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Downgraded by A.M. Best

Sep 8 2017 // A.M. Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a-” from “a” of Kansas Medical Mutual...

Increasing Competition, Flat Exposures Put Drag on Surplus Lines: A.M. Best

Sep 5 2017 // For a second consecutive year, underwriters of surplus lines insurance in the United States generated just modest growth in direct premium of 2.8 percent in 2016, according to a new A.M. Best special report.Surplus lines...