Unitarian church hosts discussion on insurance
OLDWICK, N.J. — A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook of the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) to stable from negative for Church Life Insurance Corporation (Church Life) (New York, NY). Concurrently, A.M. Best has assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” and affirmed the FSR of Church Life. The outlook assigned to the ICR is stable.
The revised outlook primarily reflects the numerous initiatives Church Life has implemented in recent periods to expand its business profile and increase premium production as well as improve its operating results. In addition, Church Life has maintained adequate levels of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy (BCAR). While Church Life’s operating results have fluctuated over the past five years due to reserve adjustments, licensing and compliance fees and fluctuations in group life benefits, it experienced an increase in net operating gains in recent periods in the individual annuity and group life lines of business. The increased operating gains can be attributable to lower than expected mortality in the group life line of business and reserve releases in the individual annuity line of business.
While operating results have improved, A.M. Best recognizes that Church Life could be challenged to produce consistent profitable premium growth in the near term due to spread compression in the annuity line of business and its limited customer base. A.M. Best will continue to monitor Church Life’s ability to increase premium growth and maintain its current level of profitability.
For Best’s Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings.
Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.