AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Oswego County Mutual

AM Best reports it has revised the outlooks to negative from stable for Oswego County Mutual Insurance Co. based in Parish, New York.

AM Best has also affirmed the insurer’s Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent).

AM Best said the revision in the outlooks to negative resulted from the company reporting year-end 2025 operating losses of $974,000, driven by an underwriting loss of $2.7 million.

AM Best noted that the company’s results for 2025 were “heavily impacted by a significant and prolonged lake effect snow event” that occurred in late February. The snowstorm resulted in claims for collapsed buildings, water backup and damaged roofs, with more than 200 claims relating to the storm alone.

Oswego reported a combined ratio of 126.4% for 2025, which was materially elevated from the company’s historical norms, and marked the second consecutive year that operating performance trended in an unfavorable direction.

When benchmarked against competitors, AM Best said Oswego’s key five-year average operating performance metrics now trail those assessed at the strong level, as operating results in 2024 deviated from historical levels as well.

AM Best said the credit ratings reflect Oswego’s balance sheet strength, which its analysts assesses as very strong, as well as its “strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).”

Oswego’s balance sheet strength remains assessed at the very strong level as the company has still been able to grow surplus despite posting net losses for the year while risk-adjusted capitalization remains at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), according to analysts.

AM Best noted that as a 100% New York state property writer, “Oswego’s business profile remains limited while its ERM assessment remains appropriate for the company’s scope and scale.”