AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for FMH Insurance Group’s Members

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 Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa and its reinsured affiliate, FMH Ag Risk Insurance Company. Both companies are domiciled in West Des Moines, IA and are collectively referred to as FMH Insurance Group (FMH).

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect FMH’s overall balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

FMH’s balance sheet strength is supported by its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), its conservative reserving philosophy, which has historically resulted in consistently favorable reserve development and sound liquidity metrics. FMH’s marginal operating performance assessment stems from its somewhat inconsistent underwriting performance in earlier years driven primarily by adverse weather conditions. However, with FMH’s exit from unprofitable property insurance and assumed reinsurance books, its underwriting results have improved in recent years. FMH’s neutral business profile reflects its solid position within the U.S. crop insurance segment as the sixth largest writer of multiperil crop insurance.

The positive outlooks reflect the significant improvement in underwriting and overall results attributable in large part to the group’s decision to exit the property/casualty market as a carrier and to exit from its assumed reinsurance business provided for county mutuals.

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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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