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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - MARCH 02, 2016 02:47 PM (EST)
A.M. Best has assigned a financial strength rating of B++ (Good) and an issuer credit rating of “bbb+” to MII Life, Incorporated (MII Life) (Eagan, MN). The outlook assigned to both ratings is stable.
MII Life’s ratings reflect the company’s established presence in the administration of Health Spending Accounts (HSA) and Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA) along with other custodial accounts and services, in addition to the operational and financial support it receives from its ultimate parent, Aware Integrated, Inc., and affiliate Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (BCBSM, Inc.). MII Life has been in operation for over 25 years as a medical spending account administrator. The company ranks as one of the top 10 administrators in the U.S. and among the top two Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) administrators. The company has reported stable growth in accounts, deposits, revenue and has remained profitable since 2011. Nominal net premium volume is reported as a result of a reinsurance agreement with its affiliate, BCBSM, Inc. Partially offsetting factors include limited organic capital growth, with capital expansion primarily driven by two large capital contributions from its parent in recent years. Additionally, A.M. Best has concern with the underlying credit quality of some of MII Life’s investments in equity-related holdings. A.M. Best also notes the consumer driven health marketplace and spending account space has experienced increasing competition.
MII Life offers SelectAccount, a product line that provides all major types of health funding accounts and a complement of financial products and services to its account holders. In addition, the company is also authorized as a non-bank custodial trustee, and primarily serves as a passive custodian of HSA, HRA, VEBA and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) deposits. MII Life is also authorized to write life, accident and health insurance in a number of states.
Factors that may lead to positive rating actions include a trend of profitable growth in membership, material growth in capitalization from operations and a reduction in investment risk. Factors that may lead to negative rating actions include a loss of financial and operational support of its parent, deterioration in operating performance or a decline in risk-adjusted capitalization due to operating performance or investment risk.
This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. 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 A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page.
A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.