AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for Georgia Farm Bureau Group Members

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “bbb-” of Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company and Georgia Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company, collectively referred to as the Georgia Farm Bureau Group (Georgia Farm Bureau). Both companies are domiciled in Macon, GA.

The ratings reflect Georgia Farm Bureau’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The revision of the outlooks to positive reflects improvements Georgia Farm Bureau has made to its balance sheet and risk-adjusted capitalization over the last several years. Surplus growth has stabilized year-over-year (in contrast to prior years when at times double-digit percentage decreases were observed) and supported by operating earnings. The quality of capital continues to improve as management aggressively repays surplus notes. Underwriting leverage measures have come down considerably to levels that are on-par with the composite averages. In addition, common stock leverage was reduced in order to lower the organization’s total exposure to the equity markets. Finally, reserving practices have materially improved following several years of reported reserve deficiencies. If these results continue, AM Best anticipates a potential revision in the group’s balance sheet strength assessment.

Overall, management continues to be proactive throughout its underwriting and risk management practices, and positive results are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

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