A.M. Best Assigns Rating to California Insurance Co.

A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) to California Insurance Company (CIC) (San Francisco, Calif.), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Applied Underwriters Inc. (AUI) (Omaha, Neb.). The rating outlook is stable.

The rating reflects CIC’s adequate capitalization and the strong historical underwriting performance of business produced by AUI, a leading provider of bundled workers’ compensation insurance and payroll processing services to small- and medium-sized businesses. The rating also contemplates management’s strategic business plans and projections for near-term earnings and capital accumulation, which are dependent upon the successful execution of these plans and profitable growth. The outlook considers management’s projections for 2005, current market conditions and management’s intent to prudently manage its capital in accordance with levels previously discussed with A.M. Best.

A.M. Best will closely monitor CIC’s progress to ensure targeted results are attained and will continue to evaluate the company’s capitalization to ensure capital and surplus are in compliance with A.M. Best’s standards relative to its rating.

AUI acquired CIC from Coregis Group Inc., in March 2003 and capitalized it in the first quarter of 2005. CIC received approval from the California Department of Insurance to begin writing business effective April 1, 2005.