Credit ratings agency AM Best has assigned MS Transverse’s new excess and surplus (E&S) entity Newhall Specialty Insurance Company (NSIC) a financial strength rating of A+ (senior) and a long-term issuer credit rating of “aa” (senior) with a stable outlook.
MS Transverse Insurance Group is a property and casualty insurance company, a subsidiary of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group and part of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings (MS&AD). NSIC operates under the MS Transverse brand.
AM Best explained that NSIC’s ratings reflect MS&AD’s “strongest” combined balance sheet strength, strong operating performance, sound business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
AM Best said: “NSIC is considered part of the MS&AD rating unit due to its strategic importance to parent company MS&AD as it is a newly formed excess and surplus entity to support further growth in the U.S. frontier market.”
NSIC, along with three other U.S.-based MS Transverse subsidiaries, is included in an existing pooling agreement and parent guarantee, the ratings agency added.
Last year, MS Transverse president John Fitzgerald confirmed in an exclusive interview with Reinsurance News that the company was looking to broaden its horizons into the specialty category.
