AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Assurant, Inc. and Certain Subsidiaries

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long Term ICR) of “a+” (Excellent) of the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) subsidiaries of Assurant, Inc. (Assurant) (headquartered in New York, NY) [NYSE: AIZ]. These companies are collectively referred to as Assurant P&C Group (Assurant P&C). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long Term ICRs of “a-” (Excellent) of the core credit and life/health (L/H) subsidiaries of Assurant: American Bankers Life Assurant Company of Florida (Miami, FL) and Caribbean American Life Assurance Company (San Juan, Puerto Rico). AM Best also has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb+” (Good) and the Long- and Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IR; Short-Term IR) of Assurant. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a detailed list of the companies and Long- and Short-Term IRs.)

The ratings reflect Assurant P&C’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

Assurant P&C is considered to have a favorable business profile as the group maintains leadership positions in the delivery of lender-placed homeowners insurance, mobile protection insurance, vehicle service contracts, extended service contracts and credit-related insurance products, while maintaining its large customer base through a variety of distribution sources throughout North America. The group’s diversified product mix and distribution platforms, along with its technology focus, has delivered strong earnings over the past five years despite periods of significant catastrophe losses.

Somewhat offsetting these positive ratings factors is the group’s exposure to natural catastrophes and its heavy use of third-party reinsurance. These factors expose the P/C group’s earnings to a degree of variability. However, these concerns are mitigated by its geographic spread of risk, management’s use of risk management tools — including tracking aggregation of risks — and product design.

The ratings of Assurant’s credit L/H insurance companies, American Bankers Life Assurance Company of Florida (Miami, FL) and Caribbean American Life Assurance Company (San Juan, PR), reflect their balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as their strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM. The credit insurance business adds to overall product diversity for Assurant; however, this group of companies primarily offers credit insurance products to credit card related debt.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a+” (Excellent) have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following P/C subsidiaries of Assurant, Inc.:

• American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida
• American Security Insurance Company
• Standard Guaranty Insurance Company
• Caribbean American Property Insurance Company
• Voyager Indemnity Insurance Company
• Virginia Surety Company, Inc.
• Reliable Lloyds Insurance Company

The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with stable outlooks:

Assurant, Inc.—
-- “bbb+” (Good) on USD 300 million 4.90% senior unsecured bonds, due 2028
-- “bbb+” (Good) on USD 300 million 4.20% senior unsecured bonds, due 2023
-- “bbb+” (Good) on USD 350 million 3.70% senior unsecured bonds, due 2030
-- “bbb+” (Good) on USD 475 million 6.75% senior unsecured bonds, due 2034 (USD 275 million outstanding)
-- “bbb” (Good) on USD 400 million 7.00% subordinated bonds, due 2048
-- “bbb” (Good) on USD 250 million 5.25% subordinated bonds, due 2061

The following Short-Term IR has been affirmed:

Assurant, Inc.—
-- AMB-1 (Outstanding) on commercial paper

The following indicative Long-Term IRs on securities available under the shelf registration have been affirmed with stable outlooks:

Assurant, Inc.—
-- “bbb+” (Good) on senior unsecured
-- “bbb” (Good) on subordinated debt
-- “bbb-” (Good) on preferred stock

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 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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