A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B+ (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of Tall Pines Insurance Company (Tall Pines) (Burlington, VT). The outlook for both ratings is stable.
The ratings are based on Tall Pines’ excellent capitalization levels, quality management team with numerous years of industry experience and a strong risk management program. Partially offsetting these positive rating factors are the company’s high expense ratio and narrow business scope as a single parent captive with limited stand-alone financial flexibility. Tall Pines’ capitalization and operating performance continue to be robust. However, Tall Pines’ ratings are impacted by the credit vulnerability of its parent company, Valhi Inc., which has the capacity to support the captive’s capital position and has access to external capital.
Tall Pines’ risk management program includes regular visits to each plant to assess risks. Loss control auditors generally visit the facilities twice a year and more frequently if needed (i.e., if construction is in progress, there is an increase in loss trends). The auditors find areas that need improvement and help the facilities implement methodologies and loss control practices. The facilities have a specified time frame for implementation and must respond within that time frame.
Tall Pines works closely with the business units to track incident data, and if necessary, report incident data to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Internal and external benchmarking techniques are used, based primarily on incident rates with the goal of reducing them. Tall Pines hosts bi-annual safety conferences in North America and annual safety conferences in Europe in an effort to promote safety awareness education.
