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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK, N.J. - MAY 20, 2011 12:00 AM (EDT)
A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to D (Poor) from B (Fair) and issuer credit rating to "c" from "bb" of Maya Assurance Company (Maya) (Long Island City, NY). The outlook for both ratings has been revised to negative from stable. Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings at the company's request.
The rating actions reflect Maya's substantial underwriting and operating losses in the fourth quarter of 2010, which resulted in a 57% decline in policyholders' surplus for the year and substantially weakened risk-adjusted capitalization. The ratings also reflect the company's significant financial and operating leverage, as well as the challenges it will continue to face as a relatively new company writing commercial auto liability and no-fault coverages in the highly competitive New York City metropolitan area for-hire-livery market.
These concerns are partially offset by Maya's recent corrective actions to improve underwriting performance, including emphasizing independent owner operator versus fleet business, and ongoing initiatives to raise capital to resume its business plans and growth strategies.
The outlook for the ratings is reflective of the aforementioned concerns and risks of potential further adverse deviation at Maya.
The principal methodology used in determining these ratings is Best's Credit Rating Methodology - Global Life and Non-Life Insurance Edition, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process and highlights the different rating criteria employed. Additional key criteria utilized include: "Risk Management and the Rating Process for Insurance Companies"; "Understanding BCAR for Property/Casualty Insurers"; and "Rating New Company Formations." Methodologies can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.
Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.