Best’s News & Research Service - July 24, 2009 12:22 PM (EDT)
A.M. Best Withdraws Ratings of Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania
OLDWICK, N.J. //BestWire// - A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of C (Weak) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “ccc+” of Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (SHIP, formerly known as Conseco Senior Health Insurance Company) (Bensalem, PA). The outlook for both ratings is negative.
Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings at the company’s request and assigned a category NR-4 to the FSR and “nr” to the ICR. This rating action reflects the decision of SHIP’s management to withdraw from A.M. Best’s interactive rating process.
Despite continued statutory operating losses ($37 million in the first quarter of 2009), SHIP’s current absolute and risk-adjusted capitalization is adequate. A.M. Best believes that SHIP will likely require a combination of rate increases, reduced benefits and policyholder forfeitures to maintain sufficient capitalization over the long term. Additionally, as a private company, SHIP has no access to additional capital. A.M. Best notes that SHIP should benefit from lower expenses going forward as it operates without a profit motive.
For Best’s Credit Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit http://www.ambest.com/ratings.
The principal methodologies used in determining these ratings, including any additional methodologies and factors that may have been considered, can be found at http://www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.