A.M. Best upgrades rating of Western Financial Insurance Company to A-

A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from B+ (Good) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a-” from “bbb-” of Western Financial Insurance Company (WFIC), based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The rating upgrade follows the acquisition of Western Financial Group Inc. (Western Financial), the ultimate parent of WFIC, by Desjardins Financial Group (Desjardins) in 2011 Q2. “As a member of Desjardins, A.M. Best expects that Western Financial…and WFIC will benefit from the financial and strategic support that can be provided by the new parent to the Western Financial organization,” A.M. Best says in a press release. “This support has been demonstrated though the assumption or payoff of the outstanding public debt at Western Financial by Desjardins.”A.M. Best went on to say the ratings of WFIC recognize its strong risk-adjusted capitalization and continued solid underwriting performance. “Although WFIC is a specialty writer and a market leader of pet insurance in Canada, as a monoline writer this poses some inherent risk of concentration,” the ratings agency noted. “While this is a unique market segment of pet insurance, A.M. Best believes the company is generally well positioned and resolute in its underwriting guidelines to prospectively maintain positive operating results.”