Best’s News & Research Service - June 12, 2015 12:49 PM (EDT)
A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of AultCare Insurance Company; Assigns Ratings to AultCare Health Insuring Corporation
- June 12, 2015 12:49 PM (EDT)
Oldwick //BestWire// - A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of "bbb" of AultCare Insurance Company (AultCare). The outlook for both ratings is stable. Additionally, A.M. Best has assigned an FSR of B++ (Good) and an ICR of "bbb" to AultCare Health Insuring Corporation (AHIC). The assigned outlook for these ratings is stable. Collectively, the group is referred to as AultCare Health Group. Both companies are headquartered in Canton, OH.
AultCare's rating affirmations partially reflect its strategic role as the health plan affiliate of its ultimate parent, Aultman Health Foundation (Aultman), a fully integrated health care delivery system. The ratings also consider the company's implicit support received from Aultman, its favorable market share in its service area and improved operating performance over the past two years.
Aultman's establishment of AHIC, a non-profit company, and the transfer of its ownership in AultCare to AHIC at year-end 2014 enabled the organization to react to the Medicare Advantage industry's response to the new requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This change in ownership transferred AultCare's former Medicare Advantage business to its new parent, AHIC.
The ratings assigned to AHIC reflect its new strategic role as the Medicare Advantage affiliate of Aultman. AHIC commenced operations on Jan. 1, 2015. A.M. Best anticipates that Aultman will implicitly and explicitly support the company to fund its future growth initiatives.
Future positive rating movement could occur if the group sustains diversified, profitable premium revenue growth across all of its core business lines, reports and sustains a higher level of earnings and materially improves its risk-adjusted capital level. A future negative rating action could occur if the group's operating performance materially trends downward, its risk-adjusted capitalization declines beyond A.M. Best's expectations or its strategic importance to its parent significantly diminishes.
The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best's Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best's Credit Rating Methodology can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology .
Key insurance criteria reports utilized:
- Evaluating Non-Insurance Ultimate Parents
- Rating Members of Insurance Groups
- Risk Management and the Rating Process for Insurance Companies
- Understanding BCAR for U.S. and Canadian Life/Health Insurers
This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. 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 visit A.M. Best's Ratings & Criteria Center.
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