A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of “A (Excellent)” and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a” of The Doctors Company, an inter-insurance exchange, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, TDC Speciality Insurance Company.
In addition, the rating agency has also affirmed the financial strength rating of “A (Excellent)” and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a” of TDC National Assurance Company.
TDC National is a captive reinsurer assuming liabilities from the exchange for death, disability and retirement coverages. All companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of the exchange.
The financial strength rating of American Physicians Assurance Corporation, The First Professionals Insurance Company and OHIC Insurance Company have also been affirmed as “A- (Excellent)”, with a long-term issuer credit of “a-”, but have since been withdrawn.
A.M. Best withdrew the ratings of American Physicians Assurance Corporation, The First Professionals Insurance Company and OHIC Insurance Company at the request of their management, due to the companies being in run-off.
The rating affirmations of the exchange and TDC Specialty reflect strong balance sheets, long-term operating performance and the exchange’s market position within the US medical professional liability (MPL) sector.
According to A.M. Best, this is the result of positive earnings, successful acquisitions, and strong patient safety and risk management programmes.
TDC Specialty’s ratings also benefit from the implicit and explicit support from the exchange, which includes “significant” inter-company reinsurance.
A.M. Best said: “All of the ongoing companies within the organisation face the challenges associated with being concentrated in MPL lines of business including very competitive soft market pricing; a declining physician market base; a modest trend of increasing claims severity; and declining reserve redundancies. In addition, investment returns have been diminished by the low interest rate environment.”
