AM Best Revises Outlooks to Stable for Members of ISMIE Mutual Group

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- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company and ISMIE Indemnity Company (collectively known as ISMIE or the group). Both companies are domiciled in Chicago, IL.

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

The revision of the outlooks to stable reflects steady improvement in ISMIE’s operating performance driven by rate and underwriting actions as well as expense management, as it has executed on various strategic initiatives to return to profitability. Net investment income was a significant contributor to operating earnings driven by higher yields after a period of constraint in prior years from the group’s conservative investment portfolio.

The group’s expansion strategy into new territories and product offerings over the most recent five-year period, combined with modest expansion within its core medical professional liability book, resulted in another year of premium growth in 2024. Due to ISMIE’s conservative capital management and prudent reserving, risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and overall balance sheet strength each remain at the strongest level, absorbing underwriting and overall economic volatility, as well as execution risks associated with the group’s business plan.

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.