AM Best Revises Outlooks to Stable for Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies’ Members

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has revised the outlooks to stable from negative and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “aa-” (Superior) of WestGUARD Insurance Company, AmGUARD Insurance Company, EastGUARD Insurance Company, NorGUARD Insurance Company and AZGUARD Insurance Company, which operate under an intercompany pooling agreement. These companies are members of Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies (GUARD) and domiciled in Omaha, NE.

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect GUARD’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses at the strongest level, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. GUARD’s ratings further recognize the implicit and explicit financial support provided by its immediate parent, National Indemnity Company (NICO), a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. [NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B], including significant capital support via reinsurance transactions and capital contributions.

The revision of the outlook to stable from negative reflects the continued support and commitment from NICO and Berkshire Hathaway as the company mitigates concerns regarding its recent adverse operating results. AM Best also recognizes the favorable early returns on corrective underwriting actions, and operational turnaround implemented in recent years by the current GUARD management team. While the improved operating trends have only been recognized for a short period of time, AM Best expects that the group will be fully supported in the event that GUARD’s future performance deviates from current expectations. AM Best will continue to monitor the group’s assessments in the near term, and may realign if the individual assessments no longer align with peer metrics.

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.