Queen City Assurance and Vine Court Assurance have received results that are unchanged from their review last year by A.M. Best.
The ratings firm again affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings of “a” of Queen City Assurance and Vine Court Assurance, both domiciled in Burlington, Vermont, with the outlook for all ratings being seen as stable.
The ratings are based on Queen City and Vine Court's individual and combined profiles as single-parent captives of The Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The ratings also are based on both companies’ “excellent” risk-adjusted capitalisation, substantial net income and underwriting profitability, a growing capital base, conservative investments and a strong adherence to the parent’s robust risk controls and its overall risk culture.
Additionally, return measures on a group and individual basis are consistently positive, reflective of the organisation’s prudent pricing and deployment of capital.
These significant strengths are partially offset by the companies' risk concentration, which is the result of being single-parent captives of The Kroger Co., coupled with a substantial aggregate limit retained by the captives.
Key rating triggers that could result in a downgrading of the ratings include a precipitous decline in Queen City and Vine Court’s risk-adjusted capital strength.
Key rating triggers that could result in an upgrading of both companies’ ratings include a consistently profitable operating performance coupled with a substantial increase in risk-adjusted capitalisation.
Rating enhancement or a deterioration in the capitalisation of the parent also could result in an upgrading or downgrading of the ratings.
