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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - OCTOBER 25, 2019 03:02 PM (EDT)
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a” of Insurance Company of the West (ICW) and two of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Explorer Insurance Company (Explorer) and VerTerra Insurance Company (VerTerra). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Concurrently, AM Best has assigned an FSR of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term ICR of “a” to ICW National Insurance Company (National), ICW Premier Insurance Company (Premier) and ICW Casualty Insurance Company (Casualty), all newly created subsidiaries of ICW. The outlook assigned to these ratings is stable. All six companies are members of the pool, headquartered in San Diego, CA and are collectively referred to as ICW Pool.
These ratings reflect the ICW Pool’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The rating assignments for National, Premier and Casualty reflect the execution of an inter-company pooling agreement, led by the lead company, ICW. These companies will provide ICW Pool with additional strategic opportunities for providing workers’ compensation coverage.
The affirmation of ICW, Explorer and VerTerra’s ratings is reflective of their continued strong operating and underwriting results, driven primarily by favorable loss experience in its leading line of business, workers’ compensation. Additionally, ICW Pool’s ratings reflect solid risk-adjusted capitalization, a comprehensive reinsurance program and a fairly conservative investment portfolio.
Offsetting these positive rating factors is the Pool’s concentration of risk in California’s workers’ compensation marketplace, subjecting them to the regulatory, judicial and economic environment of the state and its highly competitive market conditions.
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 Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency and information provider with an exclusive focus on the insurance industry.