From Best's Review: Data Driven

An explosion of data and advancements in analytics is shifting underwriting from an art to a science.

Best’s Market Segment Report: D&O Insurance Segment Improves, But Writers Navigating New Underwriting Challenges

Although the directors and officers (D&O) insurance segment’s performance improved in 2018, a growing number of emerging issues represent new hurdles for underwriters, including unicorn companies due to their lack of transparency and governance in their financials, according to a new AM Best special report.

California Broker: E&S Market Hardens as Insurers Shed Fire-Exposed Business

The excess and surplus market is hardening in California as it takes on wildfire-exposed property shunned by standard carriers, according to Ian Hanson, a broker and underwriter at Burns & Wilcox in San Francisco.

Agent/Broker

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Minority Stake in Indian Broker
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired a minority stake in Indian broker Edelweiss Insurance Brokers Ltd. as part of the company’s continued geographic expansion.
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Auto

Michigan Democrats Introduce Legislation Banning ZIP Code, Credit History in Auto Rates
House Democrats from the Detroit area have introduced their own legislation aimed at curbing Michigan’s sky-high automobile insurance rates.
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Courts

Federal Judge Lets $11 Million Bad-Faith Claim Move Forward
A federal judge in Rhode Island has ruled a jury should decide if an insurance company put its own interest ahead of its policyholder’s in a $35 million medical malpractice case.
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International

Mergers & Acquisitions

Middle East/Africa

AM Best to Attend African Insurance Organisation Conference in Johannesburg
AM Best will attend the 46th Conference and Annual General Assembly of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), which will take place 9–13 June 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 2019 conference is organised by the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA), and is to be held under the theme, “Insurance Penetration in Africa: Insuring the Uninsured.”
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Property/Casualty

Nevada Reaches Tentative Wildfire Deal With Insurers, Homeowners
The state of Nevada has reached a tentative settlement in a case involving a prescribed burn that went awry and destroyed 23 homes and other buildings in the northwest part of the state, causing more than an estimated $26 million in damages.
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Ratings

AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings for National Lloyds Insurance Company and American Summit Insurance Company
AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a” of National Lloyds Insurance Company (National Lloyds). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a” of American Summit Insurance Company (American Summit), National Lloyds’ affiliate. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is negative. National Lloyds and American Summit are domiciled in Dallas, TX and are subsidiaries of Hilltop Holdings Inc. (HTH) (NYSE:HTH), a financial holding company based in Texas.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Aviva plc and Its Subsidiaries
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a+” of the rated insurance subsidiaries of Aviva plc (United Kingdom). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “a-” of Aviva plc (Aviva), the group’s non-operating holding company. At the same time, AM Best has affirmed all Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IRs) on debt instruments issued or guaranteed by Aviva. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a complete listing of companies and ratings.)
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of DTRIC Insurance Company, Limited and DTRIC Insurance Underwriters, Limited
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of DTRIC Insurance Company, Limited (DTRIC), and its reinsured affiliate, DTRIC Insurance Underwriters, Limited. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Both companies are domiciled in Honolulu, HI.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Delta Dental of California and Its Affiliates
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a” of Delta Dental of California (DDC) (San Francisco, CA) and its affiliates, Delta Dental Insurance Company (DDIC) (Wilmington, DE), Delta Dental of Pennsylvania (DDP) (Mechanicsburg, PA) and Delta Dental of New York, Inc. (DDNY) (New York, NY). These companies are collectively known as Delta Dental of California Group. The outlook of the Credit Ratings (rating) is stable.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Dentegra Seguros Dentales, S.A.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent), the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” and the Mexico National Scale Rating of “aaa.MX” of Dentegra Seguros Dentales, S.A. (DSD) (Mexico). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of MAPFRE U.S.A. Corp.’s Main Insurance Subsidiaries
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a” of the main property/casualty members of MAPFRE U.S.A. Group (MAPFRE U.S.A.). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.'s Main Operating and U.S. Subsidiaries
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “aa” of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited (MSI) (Japan) and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company Limited (ADI) (Japan).
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” of National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont (NGIC) (Burlington, VT). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remains stable.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Quálitas Compañía de Seguros S.A.B. de C.V.
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good), the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb-” and the Mexico National Scale Rating of “aa-.MX” of Quálitas Compañía de Seguros S.A.B. de C.V. (Quálitas) (Mexico City, Mexico). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (rating) is stable.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of The Allstate Corporation and Its Key Subsidiaries
AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “aa” of the members of Allstate Insurance Group (Allstate). Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a” of the members of Allstate New Jersey Insurance Group (collectively referred to as Allstate New Jersey) (headquartered in Bridgewater, NJ). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICRs of “aa” of the key life/health members of the Allstate Life Group (Allstate Life). At the same time, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “a”, and all existing Long- and Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR; Short-Term IR) of the ultimate parent, The Allstate Corporation (Allcorp). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
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AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Through Transport Mutual Insurance Association Limited
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” of Through Transport Mutual Insurance Association Limited (TTB) (Bermuda) and its subsidiary, TT Club Mutual Insurance Limited (TTI) (United Kingdom). TTB and TTI collectively trade as TT Club. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remains stable.
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AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Redbridge Insurance Company Limited
AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb” to Redbridge Insurance Company Limited (RICL) (St. James, Barbados). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
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AM Best Assigns Issue Credit Ratings to MetLife, Inc.’s New Yen Denominated Senior Unsecured Notes
AM Best has assigned the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR) of “a-” to five tranches of yen-denominated senior unsecured notes totaling JPY 151.7 billion (USD 1.385 billion) recently issued by MetLife, Inc. (MetLife) (headquartered in New York, NY) [NYSE: MET]. The outlooks assigned to these Credit Ratings (rating) is stable. See below for details on individual tranches.
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AM Best Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlook to Stable for Members of Church Mutual Insurance Group
AM Best has revised the outlook to stable from positive for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a” of Church Mutual Insurance Company (Merrill, WI) and its wholly owned subsidiaries, collectively referred to as Church Mutual Insurance Group (the group). The outlook of the FSR remains stable. (See below for a listing of companies.)
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Reinsurance

State Regulation

Washington

Nearly Unanimous US House Approves Measure to Increase Retirement Savings Options
On a nearly unanimous vote, the U.S. House passed a bipartisan bill to increase access to workplace retirement plans, encourage small employers to pool together to create multiple employer-defined contribution plans and enhance automatic enrollment.
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Announcements

AM Best’s Insurance Law Podcast Discusses Managing Difficult Claims
AM Best and Best’s Insurance Professionals and Claims Resource have released the latest installment of the Insurance Law Podcast, a series that examines timely claims and insurance issues from a legal perspective.
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BestWeek: With AOB Battle Winding Down in Florida, FAIR Sets Sights on Flood
Leaders of the Florida Association for Insurance Reform said new legislation sets stricter rules governing how consumers, contractors, lawyers and insurers are affected by assignment of benefits for insurance claims, according to this week’s issue of BestWeek. The association is rebranding and wants to further its work in flood reform, they told AM BestTV during a panel discussion.
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