AM Best Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlook to Negative; Affirms Credit Ratings of Investors Heritage Life Insurance Company

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR of “bbb+” (Good) of Investors Heritage Life Insurance Company (IHLIC) (Frankfort, KY). The outlook of the FSR is stable.

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect IHLIC’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as adequate, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The negative outlook for the Long-Term ICR reflects a decline in IHLIC’s risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), to weak from adequate as of year-end 2023. Surplus declined throughout the year driven by operating losses, changes in asset valuation reserve, and changes in non-admitted assets. These factors were offset partially by realized gains in the investment portfolio. Risk-adjusted capital continued to decline into the first quarter of 2024 and operating losses accelerated due to new business strain from the sale of its fixed-indexed annuity products. The company is considering reinsurance arrangements currently to reduce surplus strain, and AM Best expects the company to contribute capital to support its annuity product sales growth in the near term. The balance sheet assessment has been revised to reflect these factors.

IHLIC’s business profile was revised to neutral from limited, which is supported by its product and geographic diversification. The company’s improvements in market position, product concentration, and geographic concentration combined with the company’s innovation initiatives should make the company more resilient to shocks in the market.

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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