AM Best Removes from Under Review With Positive Implications and Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of ECM Insurance Group Members

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has removed from under review with positive implications and upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “a+” (Excellent) from “a” (Excellent) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) of Everett Cash Mutual Insurance Company (Everett Cash Mutual), 1st Choice Advantage Insurance Company, Inc. and American Reliable Insurance Company (Phoenix, AZ). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is positive. These companies collectively comprise ECM Insurance Group (ECM). All companies are domiciled in Everett, PA unless otherwise noted.

The Credit Ratings (ratings) of ECM reflect the group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The rating actions follow the completion of Old Republic Insurance Companies’ (Old Republic) acquisition of ECM on July 1, 2026, and AM Best’s evaluation of parental support and integration plans. The upgrade of the Long-Term ICR reflects rating enhancement based on Old Republic’s explicit support, ECM’s strategic importance to Old Republic and the anticipated financial and operational benefits of ownership by a larger, higher-rated insurance organization. Since the closing of the transaction, Old Republic contributed $153 million of capital to ECM and enhanced ECM’s reinsurance protection. ECM will be included in Old Republic’s reinsurance treaties in 2027.

The positive outlooks reflect a potential further increase in ECM’s strategic importance to Old Republic and additional benefits of integration ECM can realize over the near to medium term. Old Republic is the flagship group for the Old Republic Insurance enterprise and one of the top 50 property/casualty insurers in the United States and has an FSR of A+ (Superior) and a Long-Term ICR of “aa-” (Superior), with stable outlooks. AM Best expects ECM to benefit from Old Republic’s financial flexibility and operating scale, if needed.

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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