OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” to the new Harleysville Insurance Company of New York (Harleysville, PA) formerly known as Mainland Insurance Company (Mainland) (Harleysville, PA).
Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the FSR of A (Excellent) and ICR of “a” of the former Harleysville Insurance Company of New York (Watertown, NY) and assigned a category of NR-5 (Not Formally Followed) to the FSR and an “nr” to the ICR, as it no longer exists following a legal entity merger.
These rating actions follow A.M. Best’s confirmation that the former Harleysville Insurance Company of New York was merged into Mainland, a subsidiary of Harleysville Group, Inc. (HGIC) [NASDAQ: HGIC]. Subsequent to the merger, the surviving entity, Mainland, was renamed Harleysville Insurance Company of New York. The operations of Harleysville NY remain unchanged post merger with no impact to policyholders. All changes were effective December 31, 2010.
In April 2010, A.M. Best upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and ICR to “a” from “a-” of Harleysville Insurance (Harleysville), including the lead company of the group, Harleysville Mutual Insurance Company (Harleysville Mutual), and its property/casualty pooling affiliates. At the same time, A.M. Best upgraded the FSR to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and ICR to “a-” from “bbb+” of Harleysville Life Insurance Company (Harleysville Life), a direct life/health subsidiary of Harleysville Mutual. A.M. Best also upgraded the ICR and debt ratings to “bbb” from “bbb-” of the 47% publicly traded downstream holding company, HGIC. The outlook for all ratings is stable. All companies are headquartered in Harleysville, PA unless otherwise specified.
The principal methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology -- Global Life and Non-Life Insurance Edition, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best’s rating process and highlights the different rating criteria employed. Additional key criteria utilized include: “Risk Management and the Rating Process for Insurance Companies”; “Understanding BCAR for Property/Casualty Insurers”; and “Assessing Country Risk.” Methodologies can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.
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