AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Everen Specialty Ltd.

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Everen Specialty Ltd. (Everen Specialty) (Hamilton, Bermuda) (formally known as Oil Casualty Insurance, Ltd.). AM Best also has affirmed the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating of “bbb” (Good) on the $200 million, 8.00% deferrable subordinated debentures, due Sept. 15, 2034. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Everen Specialty’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

Everen Specialty’s risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), in the very strong range, though overall capital levels have been in decline over the past five years. Capitalization has remained sufficient to support the company’s strategic diversification efforts. The company’s diversification efforts have supplemented its primary mission as a stable capacity provider for the energy industry.

Everen Specialty’s underwriting performance has been volatile over the prior five years, as the company experiences occasional shock losses. However, the company does use retrocessional reinsurance and limit management cover to mitigate its exposures. Everen Specialty’s reinsurance program has been proven effective in dampening volatility. Investment returns have been accretive to the company’s results in four of the past five years (2021 through 2017).

The management team is seasoned, with its members having experience in the insurance, financial and energy industries.

AM Best does not anticipate positive rating movement over the short term; diversification and growth initiatives will need to prove beneficial to the group’s operating performance over the intermediate term. Negative rating actions could result from continued reduction in Everen Specialty’s risk-adjusted capitalization.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.