A.M. Best upgraded the financial strength rating of Florida Family Insurance to A- (excellent) from B++ (good), the rating agency announced on Wednesday, citing strong operating results.

The group members are Florida Family Insurance Company and subsidiary Lakeview Insurance Company, both domiciled in Bonita Springs, Fla.

In the rating announcement, A.M. Best cited “the group’s consistent trend of strong operating results,” along with growing surplus levels and operating returns that compare favorably with the peer averages over the last decade.

Best noted that the group’s level of capitalization has increased as a result of “above- average net income and close management of its underwriting guidelines, rate levels, credit risk and asset risk. The announcement also highlighted the fact that Florida Family Group has been proactive in adopting underwriting and claims management procedures to control and mitigate weather-related catastrophe risk.

In a separate announcement from Florida Family, the group noted that its companies were assigned an initial rating of B+ (good) by A.M. Best in 2001, which was previously upgraded to B++ (good) in 2004.

Rick Hardy, Chairman and CEO of Florida Family, said, “It’s a tremendous and rare accomplishment to have achieved an A- Financial Strength Rating as a Florida-only residential property carrier,” citing an unwavering commitment to treating people fairly, paying claims quickly, and ensuring longevity for policyholders as contributors to the group’s success.

A.M. Best’s announcement included references to the stresses on Florida-only property insurers that get factored into rating actions. “The single state of operation makes the mitigation of the legislative and regulatory activity challenging for management,” Best said, adding, however, that Florida Family has demonstrated that they have been effective at addressing the impact that these risks have on the enterprise.

In addition, catastrophe reinsurance is maintained at a level that addresses severity and frequency of catastrophe losses, “causing the modeled after-tax probable maximum loss to be conservative relative to the level of policyholders surplus.”

Sources: A.M. Best, Florida Family Insurance