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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - JANUARY 26, 2023 09:49 AM (EST)
AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb” (Good) of ACMAT Corporation (ACMAT) (Farmington, CT) [OTC Market: ACMT]. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a” (Excellent) of ACMAT’s wholly owned subsidiary, ACSTAR Insurance Company (ACSTAR) (Chicago, IL). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect ACSTAR’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The ratings consider ACSTAR’s strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), management’s expertise in a specialized niche of the surety sector and unwavering underwriting discipline. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are recent premium volume declines from the delay and halting of construction projects during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as persistent competitive market conditions. As a result, ACSTAR’s underwriting profits shrank over the past five years, though profitability metrics remain sound. AM Best will continue to monitor ACSTAR’s premium volume trends closely, along with the evolving market conditions, to ensure that the strong operating performance assessment remains appropriate.
The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that ACSTAR’s risk-adjusted capitalization will remain supportive and that its operating results will remain profitable in the near term.
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.