Demotech, IJ Salute 152 Super Regional P/C Insurers

There are 152 Super Regional Property/Casualty Insurers™ in the country, with American Family Mutual Insurance Co. at the top of the list.

This year marks the second year that the actuarial services firm Demotech Inc., as Insurance Journal’s official research partner, has published its Super Regional P/C Insurers™ list. The report appears in the June 16 edition of Insurance Journal magazine.

The 152 insurers fit the objective qualifying criteria and thresholds to be named Super Regional Property/Casualty Insurers™ list, according to the Columbus, Ohio-based Demotech Inc.

The objective rankings by direct premiums written are based on year-end 2007 annual statement data. Those making the top 10 in the 2008 Super Regional P/C Insurers™ list are:

1. American Family Mutual Insurance Co.
2. Erie Insurance Exchange
3. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
4. AIU Insurance Co.
5. Auto Owners Insurance Co.
6. Mid-Century Insurance Co. .
7. Fire Insurance Exchange
8. Owners Insurance Co.
9. Country Mutual Insurance Co.
10. Peerless Insurance Co.

“Super Regional insurers are critically important to the insurance industry and to their agents, producers and insureds,” says Joseph Petrelli, president, Demotech. “These companies are strong, stable markets that have been working hard for their agents and insureds. This is why Insurance Journal initially expressed interest in quantifying and identifying what criteria can be used to define an insurer as a Super Regional.”

The Insurance Journal special report in its June 16 edition presents the Super Regional list both alphabetically and by size as ranked by direct premiums written as of Dec. 31, 2007. Also presented are the 32 companies that are new to the Super Regional list, as well as 19 insurers that are no longer classified as Super Regionals on the list, but have been reclassified into another one of Demotech’s categories.

The Demotech Company Classification System categorizes all property/casualty insurers into one of 11 categories, including super regionals. The 11 categories that comprise the system are nationals, near nationals, super regionals, regionals, state specialists, coverage specialists, strategic subsidiaries, risk retention groups, surplus lines carriers, reinsurers and companies with less than $1 million in direct written premium. A company cannot be assigned to more than one category. Therefore, a company not designated as a super regional is given another classification, perhaps near national, regional, or state specialist.

“Insurers and interested readers are encouraged to examine the selection criteria and thresholds used to determine the list of 2008 Super Regionals,” said Barry J Koestler II, CFA, senior financial analyst and chief ratings officer, Demotech. “Our selection criteria are quantitative and transparent. We remain committed to setting benchmarks at levels that accurately categorize the industry.”

Both Petrelli and Koestler stressed that this is an objective stratification of the companies that comprise the industry, not ratings of the individual insurers. Inclusion on the list of Super Regionals is not meant to suggest that a company is superior to companies not categorized as Super Regionals.

Future issues of Insurance Journal will report on state specialists, coverage specialists, regionals and other classifications created and defined by Demotech.