Surplus lines startup Ategrity nets A- rating from A.M. Best
Reprints
A.M. Best Co. Inc. on Wednesday assigned an A- rating to new surplus lines insurer Ategrity Specialty Insurance Co. and Sequentis Reinsurance Co. Ltd.
Scottsdale, Arizona-based Ategrity was formed by surplus lines industry veteran Mike Miller in April.
The insurer is launching with $125 million in funding from Stuart Zimmer, founder and CEO of Zimmer Partners LP, an investment advisor based in New York, Ategrity said in a statement. Mr. Zimmer will serve as non-executive chairman of Ategrity.
Oldwick, New Jersey-based Best assigned a financial strength rating of A- and a long-term issuer credit rating of a- to Ategrity and its reinsurance unit, Hamilton, Bermuda-based Sequentis Re.
The ratings reflect Ategrity’s “very strong” balance sheet, as well as its adequate projected operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management, according to Best.
“Ategrity’s very strong balance sheet assessment is based on a capitalization level that meets A.M. Best’s stringent requirements for newly formed companies, supportive projected risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio, and a clearly-defined business plan, which contemplates a reasonable degree of execution risk as a newly formed company,” the ratings firm said in a statement.
Ategrity plans to write excess and surplus lines of business and is projecting strong underwriting profitability supplemented by healthy investment income generated by its investment portfolio, Best noted.
“As with any start-up company, Ategrity’s operating profitability depends on senior management’s ability to execute the company’s business plan,” the ratings agency said.
The insurer’s business profile will initially be limited until operations mature, but its “seasoned senior management team plans to leverage its strong existing industry relationships to grow the business conservatively and consistently,” Best said.
Read Next
-
Former Scottsdale execs launch surplus lines insurer
Former Scottsdale Insurance Co. President Mike Miller is forming a rival surplus lines insurer called Ategrity Specialty Insurance Co., he announced Friday.
