AM Best Withdraws Credit Ratings of WellPoint Insurance Services, Inc.

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of WellPoint Insurance Services, Inc. (WISI) (Honolulu, HI). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Concurrently, AM Best has withdrawn these ratings as the company has requested to no longer participate in AM Best’s interactive rating process.

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

The affirmation of WISI’s ratings reflects continued capital and surplus growth through year-end 2025 and into early 2026. WISI’s risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), remained at the strongest level at year-end 2025. Furthermore, WISI plans the near-term capital growth to be supported through positive earnings and no dividends to the parent company.

AM Best acknowledges the company’s considerable financial flexibility through a parent company supported by its commercial paper program, parent company cash and a revolving credit facility. Furthermore, Elevance Health has more-than-sufficient financial strength to provide additional support to WISI if needed. Elevance Health has demonstrated explicit and implicit support of WISI in past years. WISI’s importance to the parent has increased in recent years as the volume of business in the core and the cell has expanded. WISI benefits from the parent’s operational resources and expertise.

WISI is a Hawaii-domiciled captive and a wholly owned subsidiary of Elevance Health, Inc. (Elevance). WISI was established close to two decades ago primarily for the purpose of formalized self-insurance and an instrument of corporate risk management. In the past several years, Elevance expanded the volume of errors and omissions coverage placed with WISI as the market for this line of business has hardened considerably. In addition, WISI established a segregated cell five years ago to assume Federal Employee Program (FEP) health care premium from Elevance affiliates to optimize capital at statutory entities. Furthermore, the cell structure provides a formal separation of FEP from other WISI business and provides transparency for Hawaii’s regulators.

AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated in the United States and throughout the world. For current Best’s Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.

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.