AM Best has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (excellent) and long-term issuer credit rating of “a-” (excellent) of Vermont-domiciled Sustainable Assurance Company (SAC). The outlook for the ratings is stable.
SAC is a wholly owned captive of Pennsylvania-based solid waste company, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA).
The captive’s business profile is assessed as limited, reflecting its position as a single parent captive of LCSWMA, concentrating on property and terrorism cover and exposures concentrated in central Pennsylvania.
Though SAC was formed in 2020, LCSWMA has experience with both offered lines since the mid-1980s.
Historically, SAC has had minimal losses dating to its legacy experience at the parent level and offers a portion of the coverage of these low frequency, high severity loss type lines from the captive for efficiency.
The favourable legacy experience of LCSWMA in both lines is fully reflected in management’s projected underwriting results.
The ratings reflect SAC’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The stable outlooks consider AM Best’s expectation that SAC’s balance sheet strength will continue to strengthen over the medium term, with internal profit generation and retention levels that support continued growth in the captive’s surplus.
The captive also has a conservative investment portfolio with conservative loss reserving strategies.
“Positive rating action could occur if the company’s balance sheet strength assessment improves, driven through its ability to organically grow surplus from profitable operations in line with management’s projections,” AM Best said.
“Conversely, negative rating action could occur if the balance sheet assessment weakens, reflecting higher-than-expected severity losses or a more aggressive stance in capital management.”