A.M. Best Co. has assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR) of "bbb- to Darwin Professional Underwriters, Inc. (DPUI) (Wilmington, DE) {www.darwinpro.com} (NYSE: DR). Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and ICRs of "a- of the Darwin Group (Darwin) (Wilmington, DE) and its members. DPUI is the publicly-traded parent of Darwin. The outlook for all ratings is stable.
These ratings reflect Darwin's supportive capitalization, experienced management team and familiarity in writing specialty insurance products. Furthermore, the ratings also consider management's intention to prudently manage and allocate capital in accordance with levels previously discussed with A.M. Best.
Formed in March 2003, these positive rating factors are partially offset by the inherent challenges of Darwin being a relatively new group and the continued price softening throughout the professional liability sector, which may directly affect the execution of Darwin's long range business strategy.
The FSR of A- (Excellent) and the ICRs of "a- have been affirmed for Darwin Group and its following members:
- Darwin National Assurance Company
- Darwin Select Insurance Company
The ICR of "bbb- has been assigned to Darwin Professional Underwriters, Inc.
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.
