A.M. Best Co. on Friday upgraded the financial strength rating of North American Casualty Group and its subsidiaries to "A," from A-minus, in view of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s purchase of the San Francisco insurer.
The rating was removed from "under review" status, with positive implications, and given a stable outlook. The Oldwick, N.J., ratings company also assigned the group an issuer credit rating of "a." North American Casualty Group includes the pooled operations of California Insurance Company (San Francisco, CA) and Continental National Indemnity Company (Cincinnati, OH). The outlook for these ratings is stable.
The ratings reflect the group's solid capitalization and the strong historical underwriting performance of business produced by Applied Underwriters Inc., North American's parent, according to A.M. Best. Applied Underwriters sells bundled workers' compensation insurance and payroll processing services to small and midsize businesses. The ratings also reflect the benefits of ownership by Berkshire Hathaway.
