The Ward Group has released its annual list of top performing property/casualty insurance companies, and there were a few surprising names left off the catalog.
For its annual report, The Ward Group, which provides consulting, industry benchmarking, and best practices services for the insurance industry, analyzed the financial performance of more than 3,000 property/casualty insurance companies over a five-year span (2003-2007). Those who met the criteria for both a safety/consistency test and a performance test were candidates to make the list. The primary objective, said Ward, is to compare their performance as a group with the rest of the insurance industry.
To pass the first phase of safety and consistency testing, insurance companies must have five years of history; an average surplus and premiums of at least $50 million; an adjusted net income in at least four of the last five years; a risk-based capital ratio of at least 100 percent; and compound annual growth in premiums between -10 percent and 40 percent.
If a company successfully passes this first phase, they then are evaluated on their performances. An insurer successfully passes if it has a five-year average return on average equity; a five-year average return on average assets; and a five-year average return on total revenue. Based on these results and a Ward Group evaluation of each company's operations, insurers are ranked in order of success. For the final results, however, the companies are listed in alphabetical order.
There were a few notable homeowner and private passenger auto insurers left off this year's list. State Farm, which was listed as the biggest insurer for both lines of business in 2007 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, failed to make the list. Other major insurers such as Zurich, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, and American Family were also excluded.
But enough with the pessimism. Five insurers — Auto-Owners Insurance, Cincinnati Insurance, GEICO, RLI Insurance, and USAA — have made the list since its inception in 1991. Below are the rest of Ward's top insurers.
Acuity
Allstate Insurance Company
American Modern Insurance Group
Amerisure Companies
ANPAC
Assurant Group
Auto-Owners Insurance Group
Central Insurance Companies
Chubb Group
Church Mutual Insurance Company
Cincinnati Insurance Group
Columbia Insurance Group
The Commerce Group, Inc.
Donegal Insurance Group
EMC Insurance Companies
Erie Insurance Group
Federated Mutual Group
Fireman's Fund Insurance Group
FM Global
GEICO
GMAC Insurance Group
Great American Insurance Companies
The Hartford Fire Group
HCC Insurance Holdings Group
IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company
Island Insurance Companies Group
Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co.
Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation
Markel Corporation Group
Mercury Casualty Group
Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insur. Co.
North Star Mutual Insurance Company
Old Republic Insurance Group
Pekin Insurance Group
Philadelphia Insurance Companies
ProAssurance
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
Protective Insurance Group
RLI Insurance Group
Safety Insurance Group
SECURA Insurance Companies
Selective Insurance Company of America
Shelter Insurance Group
Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co.
Travelers Insurance Group
United Fire & Casualty Group
USAA Group
Utica National Insurance Group
West Bend Mutual
W.R. Berkley Corporation Group
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