A.M. Best Affirms QBE Specialty Insurance's Praetorian Financial Group's Rating

New York, NY - QBE the Americas, a division of QBE Insurance Group Ltd., recently commented on A.M. Best's affirmation of the "A-" stable rating of the recently acquired Praetorian Financial Group companies.

As part of its review of QBE's newly acquired U.S. companies, A.M. Best placed Praetorian Financial Group under review pending additional information. At that time, A.M. Best also upgraded the recently acquired General Casualty and Unigard Insurance companies to "A" stable and affirmed the "A" stable rating of the QBE Re Group - U.S. and its subsidiaries. A.M. Best's affirmation today of the Praetorian Financial Group companies' "A-" stable ratings completes the review of recent acquisitions.

"We are pleased that A.M. Best, with its recent ratings action, acknowledges Praetorian's solid position within our division and recognizes our division's strong capital strength and significant role within the QBE Insurance Group," said Tim Kenny, President and CEO, QBE the Americas. "Our partner agencies and customers can be reassured that we will continue to provide superior products and services backed by a highly rated, financially stable organization."

"The recent acquisitions of the Praetorian Financial Group, General Casualty and Unigard make this an exciting time for us. We have added substantial scale to QBE the Americas' insurance operations, and we look forward to taking advantage of the significant opportunities we have to meet and exceed the expectations of our agents and insureds."

QBE the Americas will be one of the top 20 property and casualty insurers in the United States, with more than $4.6B in annual gross written premiums and an estimated combined policy holders' surplus of $2.0B. QBE the Americas comprises four major business pillars: QBE Specialty Insurance, QBE Regional Insurance, QBE Reinsurance and QBE Latin America.

SOURCE: QBE