BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2005--ProAssurance
Corporation (NYSE:PRA) said today that A. M. Best has affirmed the
"A-" (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating of the ProAssurance Group,
and has assigned a "Stable" Outlook to that rating. Best joins Fitch
and Standard & Poor's in affirming ProAssurance's ratings subsequent
to the recent transaction in which NCRIC Group, Inc. was merged into
ProAssurance. Both Fitch and Standard & Poor's also assign "A-"
ratings to ProAssurance.
"ProAssurance is recognized for our long-term financial stability,
and our dedication to the financial strength required to keep our
promises to our insureds. We're pleased to see that our financial
integrity has again been recognized by the major rating agencies that
follow the insurance industry," said Chairman A. Derrill Crowe, M.D.
About ProAssurance
ProAssurance Corporation is a specialty insurer with more than
$3.4 billion in assets and almost $790 million in gross written
premiums. We are the nation's fourth largest writer of medical
professional liability insurance and our principal professional
liability subsidiaries are The Medical Assurance Company, Inc.,
ProNational Insurance Company, NCRIC, Inc., and Red Mountain Casualty
Insurance Company. We also write professional liability coverage
through Woodbrook Casualty Insurance Company. We are the tenth largest
writer of personal auto coverage in Michigan through our subsidiary,
MEEMIC Insurance Company.
A.M. Best assigns a rating of "A-" (Excellent) to the ProAssurance
Group, MEEMIC and our principal professional liability subsidiaries,
except NCRIC, Inc. which is rated B++ (Very Good). Standard & Poor's
assigns our principal professional liability carriers a rating of "A-"
("Strong") but has not yet issued a rating for NCRIC, Inc. Fitch
assigns a rating of "A-" to ProAssurance and our subsidiaries.
Rating Details
A. M. Best, Fitch and Standard & Poor's each maintain websites
with up-to-date information on their ratings and the methods through
which those ratings are derived.
A. M. Best: www.ambest.com
Fitch: www.fitchrating.com
Standard & Poor's: www.sandp.com
CONTACT: ProAssurance Corporation, Birmingham
Frank B. O'Neil, 800-282-6242 or 205-877-4461
foneil@ProAssurance.com
SOURCE: ProAssurance Corporation