AM Best Withdraws Credit Ratings of Northwest G.F. Mutual Insurance Company

AM Best has revised the outlook to stable from positive for the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) and to negative from positive for the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) and affirmed the FSR of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term ICR of “bbb+” (Good) of Northwest G.F. Mutual Insurance Company (NWGF) (Eureka, SD). Concurrently, AM Best has withdrawn these Credit Ratings (ratings) as the company has requested to no longer participate in AM Best’s interactive rating process.

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

The negative outlook on the Long-Term ICR reflects a decline in the company’s policyholders’ surplus by nearly 24% through Sept. 30, 2022, and a corresponding drop in the company’s overall risk-adjusted capitalization, driven primarily by underwriting loss activity. This deterioration is a result of increased loss activity in all lines of business emanating from weather-related events and continued market pressures on the auto lines. During this period, the company posted a combined ratio of 129.9%.

The stable outlook on the FSR reflect the company’s adequate operating performance metrics, which despite substantial volatility through Sept. 30, 2022, are expected to remain supportive of the assessment.

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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