A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of United America Indemnity, Ltd. and Its Subsidiaries
23 Giugno 2009 - 8:00PM
Business Wire
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating
(FSR) of A (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of �a� of
Wind River Reinsurance Company, Ltd. (Wind River Re)
(Hamilton, Bermuda) and its U.S. subsidiaries. A.M. Best also has
affirmed the ICR of �bbb� of the parent holding company, United
America Indemnity, Ltd. (UAI) (George Town, Cayman Islands)
(NASDAQ: INDM). The outlook for all ratings is stable. (See below
for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.)
These ratings reflect the strong capitalization and diversified
portfolio of specialty products provided on both an admitted and
non-admitted basis by Wind River Re and its U.S. subsidiaries. The
ratings also reflect the historical profitability of the U.S.
subsidiaries, which began operating under a single pooling
agreement as of January 1, 2009, whereby they pool their premiums
and liabilities and cede 50% of the combined net retained
liabilities to Wind River Re. The ratings of the former, separate
United National Group and Penn-America Group have
been withdrawn. Wind River Re also has been slowly building a book
of unaffiliated, third-party reinsurance business to complement the
affiliated business. At the end of 2008, on a gross basis, the
third-party business comprised less than 10% of the company�s total
written premium, with that proportion expected to grow in 2009.
These positive rating factors are tempered by the unprofitable
operating results of 2008, when a sizeable underwriting loss
combined with investment related losses spurred by the substantial
financial market downturn, produced a substantial operating loss.
The underwriting losses primarily were caused by the unfavorable
impact of certain run-off classes of program business, along with
property catastrophe losses, specifically from Hurricane Ike.
Despite a high quality portfolio predominantly comprised of
traditional fixed income securities and to a far lesser extent,
common and preferred equities, the overall financial market
downturn impaired returns as considerable realized and unrealized
losses were reported.
On a combined basis, written premium for the U.S. operations
decreased by nearly 35%, which had a negative impact on
underwriting profitability; however, some of the decrease resulted
from the planned discontinuation of relationships with agents and
brokers that had been producing unsatisfactory results. The effort
to develop and cultivate more fruitful and mutually beneficial
relationships with its distribution force was a major initiative
for UAI in 2008 that along with other significant re-engineering
and re-structuring initiatives, is expected to positively impact
underwriting and operating results in 2009. Failure to return to
operating performance levels more in line with historical results
would likely result in negative rating pressure on UAI and its
subsidiaries.
The FSR of A (Excellent) and ICRs of �a� have been affirmed for
Wind River Reinsurance Company, Ltd. and its following
subsidiaries:
- Diamond State Insurance
Company
- Penn-America Insurance
Company
- Penn-Patriot Insurance
Company
- Penn-Star Insurance
Company
- United National Casualty
Insurance Company
- United National Insurance
Company
- United National Specialty
Insurance Company
The FSR of A (Excellent) and ICRs of �a� have been withdrawn and
a category NR-5 (Not Formally Followed) has been assigned to the
FSR and an �nr� to the ICRs of Penn-America Group and
United National Group.
The following indicative ratings have been affirmed under the
universal shelf registration:
United America Indemnity, Ltd.�
-- �bbb� on senior unsecured debt
-- �bbb-� on subordinated unsecured debt
-- �bb+� on preferred stock
For Best�s Credit Ratings, an overview of the rating process and
rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings.
The principal methodologies used in determining these ratings,
including any additional methodologies and factors that may have
been considered, can be found at
www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.
Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service
credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and
health care service industries, including insurance companies,
banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more
information, visit www.ambest.com.
Grafico Azioni United America Indemnity, Ltd. (MM) (NASDAQ:INDM)
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Da Mag 2024 a Giu 2024
Grafico Azioni United America Indemnity, Ltd. (MM) (NASDAQ:INDM)
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Da Giu 2023 a Giu 2024
