S&P Affirms Auto-Owners Ins Co 'AAApi' Rating
19 October 1999
S&P Affirms Auto-Owners Ins Co 'AAApi' Rating
NEW YORK--Oct. 19, 1999--Standard & Poor's today affirmed its triple-'Api' rating on Auto-Owners Insurance Co., a mutual company based in Lansing, Mich., and licensed in 28 states.Auto-Owners Insurance Co.'s major line of business is automobile insurance. It is a member of the Auto-Owners Insurance Group, a large insurance group. The company, which distributes its products primarily through independent agents, commenced operations in 1916.
Major Rating Factors:
| -- | Although the company is a member of the Auto-Owners Insurance Group, the rating does not include additional credit for implied group support. |
| -- | Capital adequacy, as measured by Standard & Poor's capital adequacy model, is more than 300%, which is extremely strong. |
| -- | The company's premiums have grown steadily during a five-year period at an average rate of 6%, with a well-diversified geographic market. |
| -- | Operating performance is modest, with the time-weighted return on revenue from 1994-1998 at 12.2%. |
'Pi' ratings, denoted with a 'pi' subscript, are insurer financial strength ratings based on an analysis of an insurer's published financial information and additional information in the public domain. They do not reflect in-depth meetings with an insurer's management and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a 'pi' subscript. 'Pi' ratings are reviewed annually based on a new year's financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event that may affect the insurer's financial security occurs. Ratings with a pi subscript are not subject to potential CreditWatch listings.
Ratings with a 'pi' subscript generally are not modified with 'plus' or 'minus' designations. However, such designations may be assigned when the insurer's financial strength rating is constrained by sovereign risk or the credit quality of a parent company or affiliated group, Standard & Poor's said. -- CreditWire
