Latest AM Best Headlines

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

A.M. Best Reaffirms Chesapeake Employers’ Financial Strength Rating

Dec 24 2014 // Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Company, the largest workers’ compensation insurance company in Maryland, announced that insurance ratings agency A.M. Best Co. has reaffirmed a financial strength rating of A-...

A.M. Best: Iowa’s Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Under Review

Dec 23 2014 // A.M. Bestplaced under review with negative implications the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” of Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa (FMH) of West Des...

A.M. Best: Rated Middle Eastern Insurers Well-Capitalized; Reliant on Reinsurance

Dec 22 2014 // Insurers in the Middle East have strong levels of risk-adjusted capital, although they continue to rely heavily on reinsurance protection and carry elevated levels of investment risk.A new report from A.M. Best states that...

A.M. Best: Ratings Stable for Western European (Re)Insurers

Dec 22 2014 // Insurers and reinsurers in western Europe posted solid performances in 2014 and retained their capital strength against a backdrop of economic calm, according to a new special report from A.M. Best.The report analyzes the...

A.M. Best Report: ‘Grey Swan’ Risks Can Affect Balance Sheets, Ratings

Dec 17 2014 // A new special report from A.M. Best discusses the need for non-life and life insurers to address threats called “grey swans,” the low-probability, high-severity events that have the potential to impair balance...

A.M. Best: Global Re Stocks Underperform as Catastrophe Prices Drop

Dec 15 2014 // Stocks for publicly traded reinsurance companies (including the four large European reinsurers) performed well below the overall market through the third quarter of 2014, driven in part by the increased volatility in the...

A.M. Best Comments on Results of EIOPA’s Insurance Stress Test

Dec 9 2014 // A.M. Best said it would be premature to draw negative conclusions from the most recent Solvency II stress tests conducted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and does not anticipate any...

A.M. Best Report: Last Resort Insurers Welcome Catastrophe Bond Market

Dec 3 2014 // The convergence market has provided an opportunity for entities that act as insurers of last resort to transfer some of their peak exposures to the capital markets, according to a Best’s Special Report titled,...

A.M. Best: Asia-Pacific M&As Driven by Top-Line Growth Prospects

Dec 3 2014 // The Asia-Pacific region has been a popular destination for mergers and acquisitions, driven by top-line growth prospects for many still-developing markets with low insurance penetration, according to a Best’s Special...

A.M. Best: Buffalo Snowstorm Impacts Regional Property Writers

Dec 1 2014 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said there is potential for some insurers — particularly the small, geographically concentrated writers — that were impacted by the recent snowstorm in and around Buffalo, New York, to...

No Ratings Impact from UK’s Counter-Terrorism/Security Bill: A.M. Best

Dec 1 2014 // A bulletin from A.M. Best indicates that it “does not expect rated insurers to be impacted by the amendments to the UK’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, making it illegal for insurers to reimburse ransom...

A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Munich Re and Subsidiaries

Nov 14 2014 // A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Munich Reinsurance Company (Munich Re) (Germany) and its subsidiaries.Concurrently,...

A.M. Best Assigns A- (Excellent) Rating to Kelvin Re in Guernsey

Nov 12 2014 // A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Kelvin Re Limited (Guernsey). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable.The ratings reflect...

A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Mapfre Panamá

Nov 3 2014 // A.M. Best upgraded the financial strength rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating to “a” from “a-” of Mapfre Panamá S.A., Panama City, Panama. The outlook for both...

A.M. Best Upgrades Rating of Greenlight Reinsurance Ireland

Oct 31 2014 // A.M. Besthas upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from “a-” of Greenlight Reinsurance Ireland...

A.M. Best Assigns ‘A’ Rating to Missouri’s American Shield Insurance

Oct 30 2014 // A.M. Best announced it assigned a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a+” to American Shield Insurance Co. (American Shield) in Columbia, Mo. The outlook assigned to both...

A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings for Reaseguradora Patria

Oct 27 2014 // A.M. Best has upgraded the financial strength rating to A from A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from “a-” of Reaseguradora Patria, S.A. (Patria Re) (Mexico). The outlook for...

A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Negative for Frederick Mutual in Maryland

Oct 17 2014 // Ratings agency A.M. Best said it has revised the outlook to “negative” from “stable” and affirmed the financial strength rating of “A- (Excellent)” and the issuer credit rating of...

German and French Insurance Markets Show Resilience

Oct 16 2014 // Despite varying internal pressures, the German and French insurance markets have shown resilience in their respective ways, according to two separate reports issued by A.M. Best.While Germany’s economy is among the...

A.M. Best: Prospects Improve for Insurers in ASEAN Market

Oct 15 2014 // While integration of insurance markets among the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has a long way to go, the prospects for closer connectivity in a region with vibrant growth give...