DES MOINES, Iowa (Oct. 3, 2022)—EMC Insurance Companies (EMC) announced today that company leadership requested rating agency AM Best remove EMC Reinsurance Company (EMC Re) from AM Best’s interactive rating process for parent EMC and affiliate EMC National Life Company (EMCNL). As a result, AM Best today withdrew EMC Re’s rating from the rating process for those two companies.
EMC made the withdrawal request following its announcement Sept. 27, that the company had made a strategic decision to exit the assumed reinsurance business conducted through EMC Re.
Concurrent with the withdrawal, AM Best downgraded EMC Re’s Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICRR) to bbb+ (good) from “a” (Excellent). The outlook of these Credit Ratings has been revised to stable from negative. The action on EMC Re’s ratings has no impact on the ratings for EMC and EMCNL, which remain in the “Excellent” category.
“We are pleased that AM Best agreed with our request to withdraw the EMC Re ratings from the process of rating EMC and EMCNL,” said Scott Jean, EMC's President and CEO. “Exiting the assumed reinsurance market was a difficult but strategically necessary decision. It frees up capital and allows EMC to focus on growing our core insurance products of commercial property/casualty lines, bonds, and life insurance written through affiliate EMC National Life."
Today’s news means going forward, only EMC and EMCNL will carry AM Best ratings. The ratings for EMC and EMCNL are (as of 12/2021):
EMC Insurance Companies (EMC) and its five property/casualty subsidiaries*
- Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent)
- Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of "a+" (Excellent)
- Outlook remains stable
EMC National Life Company (EMCNL)
- Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent)
- Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of "a-" (Excellent)
- Outlook remains stable
*EMC Insurance Companies refers to Employers Mutual Casualty Company (EMCC) and its five property/casualty subsidiaries:
- Dakota Fire Insurance Company
- EMC Property & Casualty Company
- EMCASCO Insurance Company
- Illinois EMCASCO Insurance Company
- Union Insurance Company of Providence
About EMC Insurance Companies
EMC Insurance Companies has approximately 2,200 employees and is among the top 60 property and casualty insurance organizations in the country based on net written premium. Employers Mutual Casualty Company (EMCC) was organized in 1911 to write workers’ compensation protection in Iowa. Today, operating under the trade name EMC Insurance Companies, the company provides commercial property/casualty lines, bonds and life insurance products and services throughout the United States. EMCC is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit emcins.com.
About AM Best
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. The company uses the following definitions for their ratings:
- Issuer Credit Rating (ICR): an independent opinion on an entity’s ability to meet its ongoing financial obligations and can be issued on either a long‐ or short‐term basis.
- Financial Strength Rating (FSR): an independent opinion of an insurer’s financial strength and ability to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations.
For more information, visit ambest.com.
####
