AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to New England Indemnity Company

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) to New England Indemnity Company (NEIC) (Bedford, NH). The outlook assigned to these Credit ratings (ratings) is stable.

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

The balance sheet strength assessment is driven by AM Best’s expectation that NEIC will maintain the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), over the five-year startup period, ensuring a capital buffer to support future growth plans. The balance sheet strength assessment further reflects NEIC’s conservative investment portfolio, prudent reserving philosophy and plans to maintain modest underwriting leverage ratios.

The operating performance assessment of adequate is based on NEIC’s operating results that are expected to benefit from the expertise of the management team, which has longstanding partnerships in the insurance industry. NEIC’s projections reflect the startup nature of the company with outsized expenses at the onset. The company is expecting to report modest income in the near term. The company’s business plan reflects a consistent stream of net investment income, which will be derived from the fixed-income portfolio.

Influencing the business profile assessment are the company’s plans to write personal and small commercial insurance products in New Hampshire through independent agents. Third-party tools are utilized to guard against rate evasion, adverse selection and fraud. Execution risk has also been considered, as plans call for the effective implementation of strategy.

The ERM assessment is based on a formalized ERM policy that has been established and approved by the NEIC’s board of directors. The ERM program is expected to continue to develop as the company expands its established structure. As part of its risk management, the company utilizes a combination of per-risk excess of loss and catastrophe coverage, as well as facultative coverage when necessary.

NEIC was licensed as a New Hampshire property/casualty insurance company on Feb. 14, 2024. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of NEIC Holding Company, Inc. (NEIC Holding), alongside its affiliated service company, NEIC Services Company, Inc. (NEIC Services). The company maintains modest financial flexibility through NEIC Holding.

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.