AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Prism Assurance, Ltd.

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Prism Assurance, Ltd. (Prism) (Burlington, VT). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

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

Prism’s balance sheet strength assessment of very strong is supported by risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Further, the company has strong liquidity measures, and affords financial flexibility through the support from its parent company, Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Apogee) [NASDAQ: APOG]. The adequate operating performance assessment reflects Prism’s five-year average operating ratio that compares suitably with AM Best’s workers’ compensation composite, despite intermittent volatility. The company continues to generate consistent annual net profits primarily from a steady flow of royalty and investment income, which adequately offsets any volatility in underwriting and generally allows for healthy profits each year. Prism’s operations also benefit from its inherent low expense structure as a captive, driving an underwriting expense ratio that is a fraction of its peers’ average in comparison.

Prism is the single-parent captive insurance company of Apogee, one of the largest architectural design and construction companies in the United States. AM Best assesses Prism’s business profile as limited as the company provides very specific lines of coverage to Apogee, although its risks do have a level of geographical diversification reflecting the scope of the parent’s operations. As a captive, Prism is an integral component of Apogee’s overall organization’s risk management capability and awareness. The company is interwoven into Apogee’s ERM program, and as a result, Prism displays excellent risk identification and mitigation processes. Prism works cohesively with business units across the overall organization to reduce claims severity and frequency.

AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated in the United States and throughout the world. For current Best’s Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.

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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