AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Eden Insurance Company; Removes Under Review Status for Credit Ratings of Remaining Members of IMT Insurance Companies

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” (Excellent) to Eden Insurance Company (Eden). Concurrently, AM Best has removed from under review with negative implications and affirmed the FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a-” (Excellent) of IMT Insurance Company and Wadena Insurance Company. The outlook assigned to all these Credit Ratings (ratings) is negative. The above-mentioned companies are collectively known as IMT Insurance Companies (IMT) and are domiciled in West Des Moines, IA.

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

The ratings assigned to Eden recognize its strategic importance for the group to strengthen its presence in the farm mutual marketplace. The group already has long-established relationships with farm mutuals in Iowa by attaching its liability products and ancillary lines to the mutuals’ farm property products creating a package for policyholders. Eden will receive explicit support from IMT Insurance Company in the form of a reinsurance pooling agreement. The contract is viewed as a 100% quota share on a net basis for Wadena Insurance Company and Eden as they are 0% participants in the IMT pool. The pooled companies are engaged in the insurance business and maintain a mutual business relationship having common management.

On August 30, 2024, the ratings for IMT Insurance Company and Wadena Insurance Company were downgraded primarily due to a significant decline in their surplus position in second-quarter 2024, which was driven by higher severity of weather-related events, as well as increases in inflation that impacted the entire industry, resulting in substantial net underwriting losses. Simultaneously, the ratings were also placed under review with negative implications pending the execution of various capital management efforts. The decision to place the above-mentioned companies’ ratings under review was based on potential increased downward pressure on their ratings, due to a potential drag in the event that management’s capital management strategy did not come to fruition.

The removal of the under review with negative implications status is based on a series of initiatives implemented by management to replenish capital, improve overall risk-adjusted capitalization and strengthen balance sheet metrics. Some of those initiatives included the implementation of a multi-line drop down retention, a quota share reinsurance treaty and an exposure reduction plan.

The negative outlooks reflect IMT’s volatile operating performance in recent years, decline in its policyholders’ surplus and corresponding decline in its overall risk-adjusted capitalization, which weaken balance sheet metrics. The volatility in operating performance resulted from sizeable underwriting losses, particularly in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, the group continued to report underwriting losses; however, the results were significantly better than the prior two years. IMT’s unfavorable underwriting results were primarily driven by increased loss frequency and severity of weather-related events and inflationary pressure. While management has taken appropriate measures such as capital management and various underwriting initiatives to address balance sheet metrics and underwriting performance trends, the ultimate effectiveness of these efforts remains uncertain. The expectation is for operating metrics to improve in the near term to alleviate further pressure on capitalization. Further deterioration in operating results or overall risk-adjusted capitalization could potentially result in a downgrade in the balance sheet and/or operating performance assessments.

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.