AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for RAM Mutual Insurance Company

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of RAM Mutual Insurance Company (RAM) (Esko, MN).

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

The negative outlooks reflect the deterioration of RAM’s operating performance over the past three years to levels that are not aligned closely with other rated carriers assessed at the strong level in this category. The recent deterioration is driven by an increased number of catastrophe events from hail and wind that resulted in historic losses. Over the latest five-year period, average incurred loss and loss adjustment expenses outpaced average earned premiums resulting in elevated combined ratios and a decline in RAM’s ranking versus other strong carriers.

While management plans to take various actions to return to profitable underwriting performance, it is uncertain, whether or not, these actions will be sufficient to return RAM to its historic operating profitability over the intermediate term. AM Best will continue to monitor the execution of management’s plans and their impact on alleviating pressure on RAM’s operating performance.

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.