AM Best Downgrades Issuer Credit Rating of Puritan Life Insurance Company of America
- July 17, 2025 11:34 AM (EDT)
//BestWire// - AM Best has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” (Good) from “bbb+” (Good) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) of Puritan Life Insurance Company of America (Puritan) (Scottsdale, AZ). The outlooks of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect Puritan’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
Puritan’s Long-Term ICR downgrade reflects the revision of the balance sheet assessment to strong from very strong. The balance sheet is impacted by significant use of affiliated reinsurance with Heritage Life Insurance Company. This represents a high concentration in counterparty exposure, which lowers the overall quality of the balance sheet. Risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), remains at the strongest assessment. Partially offsetting the elevated reinsurance exposure concentration is adequate liquidity and a good quality investment portfolio, which is mostly managed by Guggenheim Partners Investment Management (GPIM).
Puritan’s operating performance has seen some volatility in the last few years both from market factors as well as non-recurring items. However, core return metrics have remained in-line with both peers and the adequate assessment. Puritan’s business profile remains limited with increasing geographic diversification offset by increasing product concentration. Strong distribution channels headlined by the Canvas platform continue to perform well. Puritan’s ERM functions are appropriate, supported by a comprehensive risk management framework.
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.