Best’s News & Research Service - August 07, 2019 12:15 PM (EDT)
AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Reamstown Mutual Insurance Company; Affirms Ratings of Goodville Mutual Casualty Company
- August 07, 2019 12:15 PM (EDT)
Oldwick //BestWire// - AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a+” to Reamstown Mutual Insurance Company (Reamstown). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a+” of Goodville Mutual Casualty Company (Goodville). The outlook of these ratings is stable. Both are members of Goodville Mutual Pool and are domiciled in New Holland, PA.
The ratings of Reamstown and Goodville reflect their consolidated balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as the company’s strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The ratings of Reamstown reflect the company’s implicit support from Goodville, via a 100% reinsurance quota share and loss portfolio transfer to Goodville. This contract was put into place in the beginning of 2019, following Reamstown’s affiliation with Goodville in 2018. Reamstown is now under the direction of the Goodville management team and board of directors. Additionally, they are anticipated to benefit from Goodville’s operational scale going forward, as expenses have hindered operating results in the past.
The affirmation of Goodville’s ratings is reflective of the pool’s continued strong operating performance in recent years. The pool experienced modest adverse reserve development in 2018, due to uncharacteristic hail activity in a particular area. However, the pool continues to produce favorable underwriting and operating returns, despite the adverse development. Management anticipates that the affiliation with Reamstown will further expand the pool’s underwriting capability in other subsectors of homeowners business, and that more efficient underwriting and reinsurance expenses going forward will improve Reamstown’s results going forward.
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.
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