AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of ACMAT Corporation and ACSTAR Insurance Company

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “bbb” (Good) of ACMAT Corporation (ACMAT) (Farmington, CT) [OTC Market: ACMT]. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a” (Excellent) of ACMAT’s wholly owned subsidiary, ACSTAR Insurance Company (ACSTAR) (Chicago, IL). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect ACSTAR’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The ratings consider ACSTAR’s strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), management’s extensive knowledge and experience in its niche specialty within the surety sector, coupled with a disciplined underwriting philosophy. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors is a significant decline in premium volume in several recent years due, in part, to management’s selectivity in extremely competitive market conditions, and in 2020, the delay and halting of construction projects during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, ACSTAR’s underwriting profits have contracted over several years. With the expectation of increased activity emanating from the recent passing of infrastructure legislation, AM Best expects ACSTAR will see more opportunities on which to compete with its terms and conditions and will continue to closely monitor the company’s premium volume, along with the evolving market conditions, to ensure that the limited business profile assessment remains appropriate.

The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that ACSTAR’s risk-adjusted capitalization will remain supportive and that its operating results will remain profitable in the near term.

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.

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