A.M. Best Affirms Liberty Mutual, Ohio Casualty Ratings

Ratings agency A.M. Best Co. reported that its ratings of Liberty Mutual Insurance Companies in Boston and and its subsidiaries along with those of The Ohio Casualty Corp. of Fairfield, Ohio.
remain unchanged following the announcement that Liberty Mutual Group, Inc will be acquiring the Ohio company.

LMGI and Ohio Casualty have executed a purchase agreement and are entering the regulatory approval process, with the transaction expected to close later this year. LMGI has integrated a number of similar transactions over the years, and A.M. Best said it will monitor the progress of this integration going forward.

On February 28, 2007, A.M. Best affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of Liberty Mutual and Liberty Insurance Holdings (Keene, N.H.).

Additionally, A.M. Best affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and the ICR of “a” of Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston (Liberty Life).

On March 20, 2007, A.M. Best upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and ICRs to “a” from “a-” for Ohio Casualty Group and its members.

With the acquisition of Ohio Casualty, A.M. Best said LMGI is purchasing a “solid book of business, which has produced strong underwriting results” as a regional provider of property/casualtyinsurance products predominantly within the midwestern and mid-Atlantic states. The acquisition improves LMGI’s independent agency distributed personal lines scale and provides a complementary geographic footprint to its existing business, according to A.M. Best.

Source:Best’s Ratings
www.ambest.com/ratings