A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings for GuideOne Insurance and Its Members

A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from “a-” for GuideOne Insurance and its members (GuideOne) (West Des Moines, IA). The outlook for these ratings has been revised to stable from positive. (Please see below for a detailed listing of the companies.)

The rating actions reflect GuideOne’s strong capitalization, favorable operating results, solid balance sheet and established market presence in its core niche market. The ratings further acknowledge the group’s experienced management team, conservative operating philosophy and sustainable competitive advantages due to its prominent position within its niche market, particularly in terms of pricing, claims adjusting and loss control. GuideOne’s positive attributes are derived from its disciplined underwriting approach, conservative investment strategy, long-standing relationships with its agents and strong franchise recognition among the religious community. The group’s strong reputation, along with its dedicated service capabilities, has enabled it to sustain strong market penetration and maintain high policyholder retention rates.

The positive rating factors are somewhat offset by GuideOne’s exposure to natural catastrophe losses, dependence on reinsurance and sizeable adverse loss reserve development in prior calendar years. The group continues to have exposure to weather-related catastrophe events; however, management has taken an active role in monitoring its catastrophe exposure and mitigating this risk through disciplined underwriting and extensive reinsurance protection, which limits the group’s net probable maximum losses (PML) to a modest level relative to surplus.

The FSR has been upgraded to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the ICR to “a” from “a-” for GuideOne Insurance and its following members:

--GuideOne America Insurance Company

--GuideOne Mutual Insurance Company

--GuideOne Elite Insurance Company

--GuideOne Lloyds Insurance Company

--GuideOne Specialty Mutual Insurance

--GuideOne Property & Casualty Insurance Company

For Best’s Credit Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit http://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 http://www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.