Best’s News & Research Service - February 03, 2026 03:35 PM (EST)
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Ontario Insurance Company
- February 03, 2026 03:35 PM (EST)
//BestWire// - AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Ontario Insurance Company (Ontario) (Shortsville, NY).
The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Ontario’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The revised outlooks to negative from stable reflect continued volatility in Ontario’s operating results in recent years continuing through third-quarter 2025. Operating performance has deviated from historical norms influenced by fire losses and weather-related events such as wind, hail, and the effects of tornadoes. While management continues to take corrective actions including underwriting and pricing strategies, volatility of key performance metrics has persisted.
The very strong balance sheet assessment reflects Ontario’s strongest risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and underwriting leverage metrics that remain conservative and compare favorably with composite averages. The limited business profile reflects Ontario’s geographic concentration as a single-state writer in the upper and western regions in New York state, which expose earnings and surplus to weather-related events. AM Best views ERM as appropriate for the company’s risk profile, however, it remains to be seen whether key ERM principles will play a role in reversing the trend in operating results.
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 (BCR), Best’s Performance Assessments (PA), Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments (PCA) 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.