AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to New Members of Westfield Group; Affirms Westfield Insurance Company and Certain Affiliates

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has assigned the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICRs) of “a+” to Westfield Champion Insurance Company (Champion), Westfield Premier Insurance Company (Premier), Westfield Superior Insurance Company (Superior), and Westfield Touchstone Insurance Company (Touchstone). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) are stable. These companies are newly added members of Westfield Group (Westfield). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a+” of Westfield Insurance Company and its affiliates, which are existing members of Westfield. The outlook of these ratings remains stable. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings). Together with the newly added members, they are wholly owned subsidiaries of Ohio Farmers Insurance Company (Ohio Farmers), the ultimate parent. All companies are domiciled in Westfield Center, OH.

The ratings reflect Westfield’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of the members of Westfield have been extended to Champion, Premier, Superior, and Touchstone given the explicit support provided through a pooling arrangement. The operations of the new subsidiaries are fully integrated with the other pooled members of the group, and will be used for underwriting opportunities in certain classes of small businesses.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a+” have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following affiliates of Westfield Insurance Company:

Ohio Farmers Insurance Company
Old Guard Insurance Company
Westfield National Insurance Company
American Select Insurance Company

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 Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data provider specializing in the insurance industry. The company does business in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in Oldwick, NJ, AM Best has offices in cities around the world, including London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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Joni Cerbone, CPA

Senior Financial Analyst

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Jacqalene Lentz, CPA

Director

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Christopher Sharkey

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Jim Peavy

Director, Public Relations

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