Financial Stability of Disability Insurance Companies
Over the past few months, A.M. Best, Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) and Moody’s Investors Services have updated their ratings of the stability of several insurers that sell disability insurance.
In March 2013, A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating (A) (Excellent) of Union Central Life Insurance Co. Concurrently, they affirmed the debt rating (a-) of Union Central. Also in March 2013, Fitch affirmed the rating outlook of Stable for Hartford Financial Services Group and its insurance subsidiaries.
In June 2013, A.M. Best affirmed the A++ (Superior) rating of Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Insurance, in part because of Berkshire’s reputation for “aggressive claims management, effective loss control services and history of conservative loss reserving standards.” Berkshire may be better known to some disability insureds as Guardian Life, and insureds should consider seeking the advice of an experienced disability insurance attorney before filing a claim with a company with a reputation for aggressive claims handling.
The financial outlook in June 2013 also improved for some other disability insurers, including New York Life Insurance Co., Massachusetts Mutual (MassMutual), and Northwestern Mutual. Standard & Poor’s upgraded all of those companies from Negative to Stable, and the Stable rating for New York Life was affirmed by Moody’s in July.
Penn Mutual saw its rating from Moody’s drop from Stable to Negative in June 2013 due to its weaker business profile as a result of increasing product risk and modest earnings and profitability.
