AM Best Withdraws Credit Ratings of Members of Wisconsin Reinsurance Group

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “bbb-” (Good) of Wisconsin Reinsurance Corporation and 1st Auto & Casualty Insurance Company (1st Auto), collectively referred to as Wisconsin Reinsurance Group (WRG) (Madison, WI). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is negative. Concurrently, AM Best has withdrawn the ratings as the company has requested to no longer participate in AM Best’s interactive rating process.

The ratings reflect WRG’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The negative rating outlooks reflect AM Best’s concern regarding the effectiveness of WRG’s exposure management initiatives given the recent trend in underwriting losses, which have impacted risk-adjusted capitalization negatively. Due to the group’s inability to stabilize results, as reflected by surplus declines reported in four out of the past five years, risk management capabilities have been brought into question.

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.