AM Best Revises Outlooks to Stable for Guardian Insurance Company, Inc.

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has revised the outlooks to stable from negative and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb” (Good) of Guardian Insurance Company, Inc. (Guardian) (St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands).

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Guardian’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The revision in the outlooks to stable represent an improvement in Guardian’s enterprise risk management, specifically surrounding its governance structure. Management has taken actions in recent years to strengthen this function, with the hiring of a compliance officer and increased involvement from the board of directors, which oversees the corporate governance and internal controls involved in company operations and officers. The company’s balance sheet strength assessment is supported by its strong level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). In addition, the balance sheet strength is complemented by improved reserving practices, which have resulted in favorable reserve development in recent years, and its high quality reinsurance program and conservative investment strategy. Guardian’s parent, Lockhart Companies, Inc., has demonstrated support in the form of capital contributions. Guardian’s marginal operating performance reflects volatility in underwriting results in the earlier part of the most recent five-year history. However, results have shown improvement over the past two years due to actions taken to improve rate adequacy.

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.