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Auto Club Group Insurance Assigned 'Api' Rating by S&P

10 September 1998

Auto Club Group Insurance Assigned 'Api' Rating by S&P

    NEW YORK, Sept. 10 -- Standard & Poor's today assigned its
single-'Api' insurer financial strength rating to Auto Club Group Insurance
Co.
    The company is licensed in Wisconsin and Michigan, and the principle
state in which it operates is Michigan. The company commenced operations in
1969.  It offers personal lines coverages through various group programs to
auto club members.  Auto Club Group participates in an inter affiliate pool
with two affiliated companies.  The pool members are affiliated with AAA
Michigan/Wisconsin Inc., a member of the American Automobile Association
(AAA), and provide insurance to its members. AAA is a leading automotive and
travel service provider.
    The company meets Standard and Poor's rating criteria for pool members,
and therefore is assigned the single-'Api' rating of qualifying members of the
Automobile Club Michigan Pool.
    '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 Credit Watch 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