AM Best Revises Issuer Credit Rating Outlook to Negative for Westfield Insurance Company and Affiliates

AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a+” (Excellent) of Westfield Insurance Company and its affiliates, collectively known as Westfield Group (Westfield). (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and Credit Ratings [ratings].) The outlook of the FSR is stable. All companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of Ohio Farmers Insurance Company, the ultimate parent, and are domiciled in Westfield Center, OH.

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

The revised Long-Term ICR outlook to negative from stable considers the elevated underwriting losses Westfield has produced in recent years, primarily resulting from the severe impact of convective storms and catastrophe events on its personal and commercial lines of business in the core states of operation. As a result, Westfield’s five-year combined ratio has been unfavorable compared with peers. However, Westfield has implemented various mitigating actions including sizeable rate increases and expense control initiatives. In addition, the group is focused on the growth of profitable specialty business, which has partially offset underwriting losses in personal and commercial lines. Westfield expects growing business diversification to reduce its exposure to weather-related events and have further positive impact on operating results.

Despite the deterioration in operating performance, Westfield’s risk-adjusted capitalization remains at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The group maintains a diversified high-credit quality investment portfolio and strong liquidity measures. The balance sheet strength is enhanced further by a conservative reserving, which has generated reserves redundancies consistently in the recent periods.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a+” (Excellent) have been affirmed with the Long-Term ICR outlook revised to negative from stable, while the outlook of the FSR is stable for the following affiliates of Westfield Insurance Company:

• Ohio Farmers Insurance Company
• Old Guard Insurance Company
• Westfield National Insurance Company
• American Select Insurance Company
• Westfield Champion Insurance Company
• Westfield Premier Insurance Company
• Westfield Superior Insurance Company
• Westfield Touchstone Insurance Company
• Westfield Specialty Insurance Company
• Westfield Select Insurance Company

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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