AM Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to ?aa? (Superior) from ?aa-? (Superior) and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company (Southern Farm Bureau Life) (Jackson, MS). The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive while the outlook of the FSR is stable.

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Southern Farm Bureau Life?s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

The upgrade to the Long-Term ICR reflects Southern Farm Bureau Life?s growing individual life insurance line of business, as well as its consistent trend in operating metrics year over year, while remaining within the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best?s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best expects Southern Farm Bureau Life?s balance sheet strength to remain at the strongest level, driven by its conservative investment strategy, strong cash flows and sustained organic earnings. Southern Farm Bureau Life?s operating performance has exhibited consistent growth in top-line premium, driven by the company?s diverse network of associated Farm Bureau Federations across 11 states. Distribution is supported by a large captive agency force, which consistently hits production goals and continues to underwrite high creditworthy business. Overall profitability metrics compare favorably with benchmark peers. In addition, operating results are supported by the company?s favorable market position in Farm Bureau communities and its loyal policyholder base, which are reflected in a good persistency trend. Management?s execution of the overall strategy has led to a trend of strong earnings on an operating and net basis.

The company?s business profile remains favorable as Southern Farm Bureau Life continues to utilize effective cross-selling opportunities with affiliates while maintaining an exclusive multiline agency force. The geographic spread of business is larger for a Farm Bureau, which helps to diversify the policy base. Also, the company has taken several recent innovation centric actions that are leading to cost-saving projects. The company?s ERM program continues to be appropriate and includes proper risk management and governance functions. These protection measures include business continuity, cyber risk management and artificial intelligence/vendor management.

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.

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Source: A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc.