A.M. Best Requests Comments on Draft Criteria: A.M. Best Ratings on a National Scale

Business Wire

MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A.M. Best is requesting comments from market participants in the insurance industry and other interested parties on the draft criteria report, “A.M. Best Ratings on a National Scale.”

A.M. Best continues to refine its proposed Best’s Credit Rating Methodology (BCRM) to further increase transparency and consistency. The national ratings scale provides a relative opinion of financial strength within a single country. The national scale was created as the global scale often results in ratings that are grouped tightly, creating less differentiation among peers, particularly in emerging markets.

In addition, the following six other draft BCRM-related criteria procedures have been released for comment:

Alternative Risk Transfer (ART)
Evaluating Country Risk
Measuring Transfer and Convertibility Risk
Rating New Company Formations
Rating Run-Off Insurers and Specialists
Rating Surety Companies

Some of these draft criteria procedures are amalgamations of current, in-use criteria procedures. Those that relate to the rating of specialty insurers emphasize what is unique or different between the analysis of the specialty insurer and the analytical process, as outlined in the draft BCRM.

These draft criteria procedures are available in the methodology section of A.M. Best’s website. A.M. Best is requesting comment on these draft criteria procedures from insurance industry participants and other interested parties. Written comments should be submitted by e-mail to methodology.commentary@ambest.com no later than May 31, 2017. When submitting comments to the methodology in-box, commenters have the option of requesting anonymity. All comments received through the methodology in-box that do not request anonymous treatment will generally be published in their entirety, with attribution to the author/sender, upon implementation of the criteria procedure.

A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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A.M. Best

Stephen A. Irwin

Senior Director

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5454

stephen.irwin@ambest.com

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Alfonso Novelo

Director of Analytics

+52 55 5208 1264

alfonso.novelo@ambest.com

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Christopher Sharkey

Manager, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

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Jim Peavy

Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644

james.peavy@ambest.com