Latest AM Best Headlines

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

A.M. Best: Outlook Stable for Midwest Builders’ Casualty Mutual, Subs

Oct 29 2015 // A.M. Best has revised the outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” for Midwest Builders’ Casualty Mutual Insurance...

Spain’s Insurance Market has Continued to Show Resilience: A.M. Best

Oct 23 2015 // Spain’s insurance market has continued to show resilience, with companies focusing on profitability as the country’s economy showed further signs of recovery, according to a new report from A.M. Best, entitled...

A.M. Best Turns Outlook to Negative for Greenpath in California

Oct 19 2015 // A.M. Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and the issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Greenpath Insurance Co. in Rancho Cordova,...

A.M. Best Trend: Negative Insurer Ratings Outnumber Positive in 2015 First Half

Oct 12 2015 // The U.S. property/casualty (P/C) industry’s rating activity over the first half of 2015 turned negative as downgrades and negative outlooks outpaced upgrades and positive outlooks, according to A.M. Best.This...

What’s Driving Surplus Lines Insurance Growth?

Oct 12 2015 // Times are good for surplus lines professionals.The surplus lines industry reached new heights in 2014, growing direct premium written (DPW) in 2014 to $40.2 billion – the highest point in history, reports A.M....

A.M. Best Assigns to ‘A-‘ Rating to Spinnaker Insurance Co.

Oct 7 2015 // A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Spinnaker Insurance Company (Spinnaker), Chicago, Ill. The outlook assigned to both ratings is...

A.M. Best Turns Outlook to Negative for Greenpath in California

Oct 7 2015 // A.M. Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and the issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Greenpath Insurance Co. in Rancho Cordova,...

Assessing First-Half P/C Insurance Results: A.M. Best

Oct 6 2015 // The property/casualty insurance industry is likely to post a third consecutive year of underwriting profits, considering its performance in the first half of the year and barring any late year catastrophic losses,...

A.M. Best: Republic Underwriters Insurance Co. Ratings Under Review

Oct 5 2015 // A.M. Best has placed under review with positive implications the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Dallas-based Republic Underwriters Insurance Co....

A.M. Best Affirms Zurich Insurance Ratings; Outlook Negative on Expected Losses

Oct 5 2015 // A.M. Besthas affirmed the financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating of “aa-” while at the same time revising the outlook to negative from stable forZurich Insurance Company...

A.M. Best: UK Non-Life Insurers’ Earnings Remain Under Pressure

Oct 5 2015 // Market conditions for UK non-life insurers are challenging as pricing remains weak across most business lines amid fierce competition, according to a new A.M. Best special report.Titled “UK Non-Life Earnings Under...

How P/C Mutual Insurers Perform Compared to P/C Industry

Sep 30 2015 // Mutual property/casualty insurers tend to underperform the property/casualty insurance industry as a whole in several areas of performance, a new report says.However, the A.M. Best report notes, the mission of a mutual...

A.M. Best: European Insurers Continue Emerging Markets’ Growth – with Caution

Sep 30 2015 // In an attempt to deploy excess capital, some major European insurers have developed overseas operations over the past several years but are now taking a more cautious approach, as not all overseas strategies have proven...

Arkansas Mutual Insurance Co. Rated ‘A’ by A.M. Best

Sep 29 2015 // A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of “A” (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a” to Arkansas Mutual Insurance Company (AMIC) in Little Rock, Ark. The outlook assigned to both...

A.M. Best: Sub-Saharan Re/Insurance Markets Attract Capacity Despite Challenges

Sep 24 2015 // Much has been said in recent years about the opportunities presented by the buoyant strides in economies across the African continent together with challenges that market participants have to overcome; the...

Overcapacity Weighs on Middle East, No. Africa Reinsurers: A.M. Best Report

Sep 22 2015 // A special report from A.M. Best notes that the “low level of insurance penetration seen in many Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, combined with the robust, albeit deteriorating, profitability achieved by...

A.M. Best Explains Its Rating Fundamentals for Hedge Fund Reinsurers

Sep 22 2015 // Since the Aug. 11, 2015 withdrawal of PaCRe Ltd.’s financial strength rating and issuer credit rating at the company’s request, A.M. Best said there has been considerable speculation about A.M. Best’s...

A.M. Best Withdraws Ratings of Chicago-Based American Access Casualty

Sep 17 2015 // A.M. Best has downgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “bb” from “bb+” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of B (Fair) of American Access Casualty Company (AACC), based in Chicago,...

New England Mutual Insurance Co.’s Financial Strength Rating Upgraded

Sep 15 2015 // A.M. Best announced on Sept. 10 that it has upgraded the financial strength rating to A+ (Superior) from A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating to “aa-” from “a” of New England Mutual Insurance...

10 Drivers of Surplus Lines Growth

Sep 7 2015 // Times are good for surplus lines professionals.The surplus lines industry reached new heights in 2014, growing direct premium written (DPW) in 2014 to $40.2 billion – the highest point in history, reports A.M....