AM Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Ratings of Kinsale Insurance Company and Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.
- August 18, 2026 11:07 AM (EDT)
//BestWire// - AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a+” (Excellent) from “a” (Excellent) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) of Kinsale Insurance Company (Kinsale) (Little Rock, AR). The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive while the outlook of the FSR is stable. Concurrently, AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term ICR to “bbb+” (Good) from “bbb” (Good) of Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (Kinsale Capital) (headquartered in Richmond, VA) [NYSE: KNSL]. The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive.
These Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Kinsale’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The Long-Term ICR upgrade reflects the strengthening of Kinsale’s business profile, supported by its increased scale, established position in the U.S. excess and surplus lines market and demonstrated ability to grow while maintaining disciplined underwriting and strong profitability. Kinsale is a property/casualty insurance company founded in June of 2009, operating exclusively in the U.S. excess and surplus lines market and has grown to approximately $2.0 billion of gross written premiums as of year-end 2025. The company benefits from an experienced management team, specialized underwriting expertise and proprietary technology. Kinsale distributes its surplus lines policies primarily through a network of independent wholesale brokers throughout the United States.
The ratings are also supported by the company’s risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), as well as continued organic surplus growth driven by consistent profitable underwriting performance and reliable net investment income. Kinsale has a strong focus on underwriting fundamentals.
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.