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AM Best Downgrades and Withdraws Credit Ratings of Upstream Life Insurance Company

BY Business Wire | CORPORATE | 11/13/24 04:49 PM EST

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to C++ (Marginal) from B- (Fair) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to ?b? (Marginal) from ?bb-? (Fair) of Upstream Life Insurance Company (Upstream Life) (Dallas, TX). In addition, the outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) have been revised to negative from stable. Concurrently, AM Best has withdrawn these ratings as the company has requested to no longer participate in AM Best?s interactive rating process.

The ratings reflect Upstream Life?s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as weak, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and weak enterprise risk management (ERM).

The rating downgrades reflect an Aug. 5, 2024, consent order by the Texas Department of Insurance outlining certain events at Upstream Life. These events exposed gaps in the corporate governance of the company and contributed to the ERM program being assessed as weak.

The negative outlooks reflect the potential impact of organizational changes on Upstream Life?s future operations.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best?s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best?s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best?s Credit Ratings, Best?s Performance Assessments, Best?s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best?s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright ? 2024 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Source: AM Best

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