Best’s News & Research Service - August 25, 2023 10:58 AM (EDT)
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for Members of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group
- August 25, 2023 10:58 AM (EDT)
Oldwick //BestWire// - AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” (Excellent) of Great Midwest Insurance Company (GMIC), Houston Specialty Insurance Company, Oklahoma Specialty Insurance Company and Imperium Insurance Company (IIC). All companies are members of Skyward Specialty Insurance Group (Skyward), whose ultimate parent is Skyward Specialty Insurance Group, Inc., [NASDAQ: SKWD], and are headquartered in Houston, TX.
The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Skyward’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The positive outlooks are driven by the group’s operating performance, which is reflective of a sustained trend of improving underwriting results since 2020 following a change in executive leadership, as well as consistent investment income. Following a period of underwriting volatility, management instituted several correcting initiatives to refine its underwriting focus and risk selections as a specialty lines writer, and improved underwriting profitability has been noted since that time in its targeted niches. Going forward, AM Best will continue to monitor trends in underwriting performance and overall operating results.
Skyward’s management has also instituted numerous capital initiatives in recent years, which included a loss portfolio transfer intended to minimize the impact of discontinued lines. The group has also benefited from numerous parental capital contributions to support its operations. Financial leverage and interest coverage ratios remain within AM Best’s expectations with additional capacity to access the capital markets if needed.
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, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments 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.