AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Relsure Vermont, Inc.

AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) to Relsure Vermont, Inc. (Relsure) (Burlington, VT). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

Relsure is a captive insurance company wholly owned by The Related Companies, LP (Related), a New York-based limited partnership engaged in acquiring, developing, owning, operating and selling real estate primarily throughout the United States.

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

Relsure’s level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), is assessed at the strongest level, where AM Best expects it to remain in future years. The balance sheet strength assessment also considers the company’s conservative investment strategy, solid liquidity measures and favorable loss reserve development over the last five years.

Relsure’s adequate operating performance assessment reflects favorable five-year average combined and operating ratios, as well as return on revenue measures that outperform AM Best’s commercial casualty composite. Relsure’s operating performance reflects the inherent benefits of being a captive insurer as it has minimal acquisition costs and administrative expenses, driving its favorable expense ratio. In addition, the parent’s risk management practices, which include best-in-class safety and loss control programs, play a key role in the captive’s loss experience, which has shown improvement in recent years.

Relsure provides general liability and workers’ compensation coverage through Related’s owner controlled insurance programs and property coverage. In addition, Relsure provides terrorism coverage for Related; however, this exposure is 100% reinsured with Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (TRIPRA) and a highly rated panel of reinsurance partners. Related was founded over 50 years ago, and currently has over $60 billion in assets owned or under development. Relsure is considered a core element of Related’s overall risk management and risk mitigation programs and plays a strategic role in delivering coverage and access to reinsurance for specific risks of its parent and affiliates.

The stable outlooks reflect AM Best's expectation that Relsure’s balance sheet strength will remain at a very strong level, underpinned by its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, while operating performance continues to stabilize. Negative rating action could occur if risk-adjusted capitalization materially weakens or there is a significant shift in its reinsurance structure that no longer supports the current balance sheet strength assessment. Negative rating action could also occur if underwriting performance weakens, which would reflect volatility in operating performance. Positive rating action could occur from sustainable improvement in underwriting performance, while organically growing surplus.

AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated in the United States and throughout the world. For current Best’s Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.

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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