AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of CNO Financial Group, Inc. and Its Life/Health 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 life/health insurance subsidiaries of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (headquartered in Carmel, IN) [NYSE: CNO]. These subsidiaries are collectively referred to as CNO Financial Group (CNO). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb” (Good) and the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IRs) of CNO Financial Group, Inc. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and Long-Term IRs.)

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

The affirmation of CNO’s rating is partially based on its risk-adjusted capitalization remaining assessed in the strong range, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), the companies’ well-matched liabilities to their asset structure across all asset classes, and the quality of its investment portfolio. CNO also has used reinsurance strategically to move risk off its balance sheet and more recently into its Bermuda captive, CNO Bermuda Re Ltd. CNO has a well-diversified product portfolio under which its broad set of distribution channels offer a wide array of retirement, life and accident and health products. Products are marketed directly to consumers through exclusive agents and at worksites through a broad set of distribution channels. CNO has achieved favorable growth trends by leveraging its investments in technological capabilities with strong results in its worksite channel.

Offsetting rating factors include CNO’s use of reinsurance with its reinsurance leverage being somewhat elevated relative to its similarly rated industry peers. CNO operates in markets with a high degree of competition across all of its product offerings; however, the company maintains competitive positions in all business segments.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a” (Excellent) have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following key life/health subsidiaries of CNO Financial Group, Inc.:

• Bankers Life and Casualty Company
• Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company
• Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company
• Washington National Insurance Company

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

CNO Financial Group, Inc.—
- “bbb” (Good) on $500 million 5.25% senior unsecured notes, due 2025
- “bbb” (Good) on $500 million 5.25% senior unsecured notes, due 2029
- “bbb-” (Good) on $150 million 5.125% subordinated debentures, due 2060
- “bbb” (Good) on $700 million 6.45% senior unsecured notes, due 2034

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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