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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLDWICK - SEPTEMBER 01, 2016 10:07 AM (EDT)
A.M. Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of Prime Insurance Company (PIC) (Chicago, IL).
The ratings apply to PIC and are based on the consolidation of PIC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Prime Property & Casualty Insurance Inc. (PP&C), collectively known as Prime Insurance Group (Prime).
The positive outlooks reflect the group’s underwriting history, which compares favorably to industry averages with A.M. Best’s expectation that opportunistic growth initiatives will continue to be well-managed. Operating performance has been solidly profitable in recent years as evidenced by the group’s combined and operating ratios, which compare favorably to the surplus lines composite. The group’s underwriting performance over the past five years has trended favorably while the composite’s has weakened. Profitability is attributable to strong underwriting discipline and strategy execution as an opportunistic excess and surplus lines (E&S) writer.
PIC’s ratings reflect Prime’s supportive capitalization, favorable operating profitability, demonstrated underwriting acumen and recent partnership with RLI Insurance Company, via reinsurance and equity ownership, and the concurrent reduction in financial leverage at the parent company, Prime Holdings Insurance Services, Inc. These positive attributes are partially offset by Prime’s fluctuating premium volume, typical of an opportunistic E&S underwriting company that seeks out under-served areas in the insurance market.
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 see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page.
A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.