AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR)
of A+ (Superior) the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR)
to “aa-” (Superior) of the members of Allstate Insurance Group
(Allstate) [NYSE: ALL]. In addition, AM Best has affirmed the FSR
of B (Fair) and the Long-Term ICR of “bb” (Fair) of the members of
Castle Key Group (Castle Key). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed
the FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a-” (Excellent)
of ASMI Auto Group’s members. AM Best also has affirmed the FSR of
A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a” (Excellent) of First
Colonial Insurance Company (FCIC) (Jacksonville, FL). All of the
aforementioned companies are headquartered in Northbrook, IL,
except where specified.
Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “a-”
(Excellent) and all existing Long-and Short-Term Issue Credit
Ratings (Long-Term IR; Short-Term IR) of the ultimate parent, The
Allstate Corporation (Allcorp). At the same time, AM Best affirms
the Long-Term ICR of “a-” (Excellent) of National General Holdings
Corp. (Delaware), an intermediate holding company of Allcorp. The
outlook of all these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
Concurrently, AM Best has downgraded the FSR to A- (Excellent)
from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs to “a-” (Excellent) from
“a” (Excellent) of the members of Allstate New Jersey Insurance
Group (collectively referred to as Allstate New Jersey)
(headquartered in Bridgewater, NJ). The outlook of these ratings is
negative.
In addition, AM Best has downgraded the FSR to A (Excellent)
from A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICRs to “a+” (Excellent) from
“aa-” (Superior) of Direct General Life Insurance Company
(Orangeburg, SC) and National Health Insurance Company (Dallas,
TX). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See
link below for a detailed listing of the companies and
ratings.)
The ratings of Allstate reflect its balance sheet strength,
which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong
operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate
enterprise risk management (ERM).
The Allstate group’s favorable market position in the private
passenger auto and homeowners’ markets, its strong geographic reach
and distribution capabilities are the underpinnings for its
historically profitable operations and has provided significant
capital generation capabilities. Recently, the group’s results have
reflected the challenging macro-economic trends, which have
negatively affected underwriting results and risk-adjusted
capitalization. The organization has responded with a comprehensive
profit improvement plan, including rate increases and underwriting
actions, which have improved underlying margins in recent
quarters.
AM Best’s expectations are that these underwriting actions in
conjunction with Allstate’s operational expertise will continue to
lead to improved operational results and a return to the group’s
historical performance metrics. AM Best notes that Allcorp
maintains strong financial flexibility through its access to
capital markets and various other sources of liquidity. The
organization’s financial leverage and coverage metrics are within
AM Best’s expectations and adequate for its current ratings.
The ratings of Allstate New Jersey reflect its balance sheet
strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its strong
operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate
ERM. Additionally, the ratings recognize the financial strength,
ERM and continued support of Allstate Insurance Company and
Allcorp.
The downgrading of the ratings and the negative outlooks of
Allstate New Jersey reflects higher than expected loss cost driven
by challenging macroeconomic trends in personal auto and
unfavorable regulatory environment and higher than average
catastrophe losses in its homeowners’ line of business, which has
driven a material decline in surplus. Allstate New Jersey has taken
various actions to restore its operating performance to historical
levels. AM Best expects these actions to improve capitalization and
overall profitability in the intermediate term.
The ratings of Direct General Life Insurance Company reflect its
balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as
well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business
profile and appropriate ERM. Additionally, the ratings of National
Health Insurance Company reflect its balance sheet strength, which
AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its adequate operating
performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. The
downgrading of the ratings of Direct General Life Insurance Company
and National Health Insurance Company reflect the perceived
decrease in their importance to the parent considering the sale of
employer voluntary business.
The ratings of FCIC reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM
Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating
performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. FCIC’s
ratings also benefit from the explicit and implicit support
provided by Allcorp, its ultimate parent.
The ratings of Castle Key reflect its balance sheet strength,
which AM Best assesses as weak, as well as its marginal operating
performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. Castle
Key continues to face challenges in the personal property insurance
market in Florida, which include higher severity losses,
catastrophe-related losses and higher reinsurance costs. Castle Key
management has taken significant corrective underwriting actions
and is actively engaged in discussions with state regulators on
appropriate capitalization levels.
The ratings of ASMI Auto Group reflect its balance sheet
strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its
adequate operating performance, very limited business profile and
appropriate ERM. The ratings also reflect the risk management and
service agreement support of its ultimate parent, Allcorp.
A complete listing of The Allstate Corporation and its
property/casualty and life/health subsidiaries’ FSRs, Long-Term
ICRs and Long- and Short-Term IRs is available.
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. For more information,
visit www.ambest.com.
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Elizabeth Blamble Senior Financial Analyst +1
908 882 1661 elizabeth.blamble@ambest.com
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Relations +1 908 882 2310
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com
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edin.imsirovic@ambest.com
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908 882 2318 al.slavin@ambest.com
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