Feb. 19, 2009 – Companion Assurance Co. recently received a B+ rating from A.M. Best Co., a well-known credit rating organization.
"We were pleased to get a B+ the first time out," company President Karl Baulknight said.
Companion was started in 1977 by the late Robert D. Armstrong, who owned the Buccaneer Hotel. In the early years, the company wrote property, automobile and surety bonds for local business. In the 1990s, the company primarily provided insurance only for the Armstrong family companies.
However, Baulknight said that in January the company began writing automobile insurance and marketing through seven or eight local agencies on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
Carl Gotts, who is Companion's vice-president, explained that the A.M. Best rating is like a report card.
"Who would you rather do business with? Someone with a B+ or a C-," he asked.
A press release from A.M. Best indicates that the rating reflects Companion’s favorable capitalization and consistent operating performance. Companion’s favorable underwriting performance in recent years has resulted in consistent operating gains, which has enabled the company to enhance its surplus. Companion’s capitalization remains strong for its current business profile.
The press release indicates that "partially offsetting these positive factors is the company’s geographic and product concentration, the increasingly competitive domestic market in which it operates and its limited financial flexibility."
A.B. Best calls Companion a niche player with a limited business profile focused primarily on automobile coverages only within the Virgin Islands.
Companies must apply for the rating. Information from A.B. Best provided by Gotts indicates the B+ rating means the company has good financial strength with a stable outlook. It is assigned to companies that have a good ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations.
Companion is now owned by Armstrong's son, Robert W. Armstrong.
According to a press release from the company, it has over $7 million in capital and surplus.
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