AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for Merchants Mutual Insurance Company and Subsidiaries

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 Merchants Mutual Insurance Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Merchants National Insurance Company and Merchants Preferred Insurance Company. All companies are headquartered in Buffalo, NY and together form Merchants Insurance Group (the group).

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

The revision of the outlooks to positive reflects AM Best’s expectation that the group will continue to exhibit organic surplus growth generation over the intermediate term. The group’s solid earnings in recent years, despite some variability in reserve development within commercial auto and commercial multi-peril lines, were considered in the revised outlooks.

The group’s balance sheet strength assessment reflects its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), prudent investment portfolio and high quality reinsurance program. The group’s favorable operating performance continues to be supported by its disciplined underwriting fundamentals and solid investment income. Merchants Insurance Group is a Northeast U.S. regional property & casualty insurer writing primarily commercial lines. The group’s target market focuses on small businesses with fewer than 25 employees including contractors, professional offices, auto repair shops, retail and mercantile establishments and commercial building owners.

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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