AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Company

AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” (Excellent) of Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Company (Wisconsin Mutual) (Madison, WI).

These Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Wisconsin Mutual’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

The negative outlooks reflect volatility in the company’s strong operating performance in recent years with more recent results deviating from historical norms. Wisconsin Mutual’s comparatively weakened operating performance was primarily driven by underwriting losses due to an increase in frequency of weather-related events, along with the impact of increasing loss costs due to inflation and supply chain issues. Wisconsin Mutual continues to have volatility in its operating performance. While management has undertaken initiatives to address this issue, should this not result in improvement and stabilization of operating performance, a downward revision could occur due to company's moving out of the strong operating performance assessment level.

Nevertheless, Wisconsin Mutual’s very strong level of balance sheet strength remains supported by its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), generally favorable loss reserving trends, its diversified investment portfolio and a comprehensive reinsurance program. The limited business profile assessment reflects the company’s geographic concentration, which subjects it to adverse weather-related events, as well as judicial, legislative and regulatory risks. An appropriate ERM program reflects the company’s overall framework and capabilities with board of director oversight and active monitoring of identified risks and tolerances.

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 one hundred 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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