AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive and Affirms Credit Ratings of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited and Its Subsidiaries

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a+” (Excellent) of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited (NEIL) (Wilmington, DE) and its subsidiaries, Cedar Hamilton Limited (Cedar Hamilton) (Hamilton, Bermuda) and NEIL Overseas Designated Activity Company (NEIL Overseas) (Dublin, Ireland).

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

The ratings also acknowledge NEIL’s management culture and its exclusive leadership position in the U.S. nuclear power-generating industry. NEIL essentially underwrites the entire nuclear utility property insurance coverage in the United States. NEIL continues with its mission of maintaining the financial strength to cover two full-limit nuclear losses, while promoting nuclear industry risk management and safety practices.

Though NEIL focuses on property catastrophe risks and related business interruption claims, which have the potential to cause significant financial stress in the unlikely event that two full-limit losses occur, the group maintains the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Credit Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), after significant stress testing. The group maintains a high level of financial flexibility through its ability to suspend policyholder distributions and assess a retrospective premium for 10 times each member’s annualized premium. To ensure members’ capitalization is adequate to support such an action, NEIL requires members to maintain an investment grade credit rating or provide collateral. This facility has never been used.

The group maintains positive pre-policyholder dividend underwriting results in most years and produces robust investment income. Though NEIL is exposed to outsized losses in certain years, due to the nature of the business it underwrites, multi-year average performance remains well ahead of its commercial casualty peers with marginal operating performance assessments. Additionally, NEIL has designed its risk management program to manage risks within the company’s defined tolerance levels. NEIL also maintains a comprehensive loss prevention program, with a specialized, effective loss prevention department closely working with insured members to control losses. NEIL’s loss prevention effort is supported by a panel of employed and contract nuclear engineers.

Key rating factors that could lead to a positive rating action include a prolonged period of favorable pre-policyholder dividend underwriting performance.

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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