AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont
- July 16, 2026 03:28 PM (EDT)
//BestWire// - AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of National Guaranty Insurance Company of Vermont (NGIC) (Burlington, VT). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect NGIC’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its very strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The ratings also acknowledge NGIC’s strategic role as the captive insurance company of Waste Management, Inc. (WM) [NYSE: WM], one of the leading providers of comprehensive waste management environmental services in North America. As a strategic and integral part of WM’s ERM program, it wholly funded the captive’s capitalization in the form of a demand note, and as changes in exposures necessitate, additional supplements have been provided in the form of letters of credit. Furthermore, NGIC benefits from WM’s robust risk management strategies, which enable it to support a portion of WM’s financial assurance program efficiently and appropriately.
Over the last decade, NGIC has remained consistently profitable, with combined ratios that outperformed the industry and its peers by wide margins and excellent return on revenue metrics. In 2025, this trend continued with solid underwriting gains and growing net investment income contributing toward strong overall earnings.
AM Best expects that NGIC will continue to produce favorable operating results prospectively, driven by the organization’s extensive loss controls, which have resulted in a loss-free history for the captive.
NGIC has a limited business profile, is licensed in two states and operates in 27 states as a non-admitted insurer to meet financial assurance obligations of WM. The captive’s ERM is considered appropriate, with a developed framework in place and risk management capabilities that are in line with the company’s risk profile.
The stable outlook reflects AM Best's expectation that NGIC will sustain its current level of operating profitability and continue to outperform peers while maintaining its very strong balance sheet strength assessment.
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.