AM Best Withdraws Credit Ratings of Aegis Security Insurance Company

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” (Good) from “bbb+” (Good) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) of Aegis Security Insurance Company (Aegis) (Harrisburg, PA). The outlook of the FSR has been revised to negative from stable, while the outlook of the Long-Term ICR is negative. Concurrently, AM Best has withdrawn these Credit Ratings (ratings) as the company has requested to no longer participate in AM Best’s interactive rating process.

These ratings reflect Aegis’ balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management.

The Long-Term ICR downgrade reflects the company’s overall risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and balance sheet metrics, which no longer support the prior balance sheet strength assessment of very strong. The company’s balance sheet strength has been impacted through the years by wide swings in premium levels without a corresponding increase in policyholder surplus. As a result, the company’s underwriting leverage results are well above those of the personal property composite average. In addition, in more recent years, the company has reported adverse reserve development on both the homeowner and commercial auto lines of business, which further diminished overall balance sheet strength.

The negative outlooks reflect the adverse trend in overall operating results over the last four years. The company’s combined ratio has been above break-even for several consecutive years and net underwriting losses have totaled more than $30 million in the latest five-year period (2017-2021). As a result, the company’s five year average pre-tax and total returns on revenue and equity are negative and compare unfavorably with the personal property composite. Aegis’ operating results have been impacted by weather-related issues and increased frequency and severity in commercial auto.

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.

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