A.M. Best Company, Inc. is an American

credit rating agency A credit rating agency (CRA, also called a ratings service) is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor's ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default. An agency may ra ...

headquartered in Oldwick,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, that focuses on the

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

industry. Both the

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

and the

National Association of Insurance Commissioners The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. terri ...

have designated the company as a

Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization A nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) is a credit rating agency (CRA) approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide information that financial firms must rely on for certain regulatory purpo ...

(NRSRO) in the United States.

Business

AM Best issues financial-strength ratings measuring insurance companies' ability to pay claims. It also rates

financial instrument Financial instruments are monetary contracts between parties. They can be created, traded, modified and settled. They can be cash (currency), evidence of an ownership, interest in an entity or a contractual right to receive or deliver in the form ...

s issued by insurance companies, such as bonds, notes, and

securitization Securitization is the financial practice of pooling various types of contractual debt such as residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, auto loans, or credit card debt obligations (or other non-debt assets which generate receivables) and sellin ...

products. AM Best publishes a series of printed and online resources of insurance professionals and publications. The oldest and best known is ''Best's Recommended Insurance Attorneys & Adjusters''. Insurance publications include ''BestWeek'', a weekly newsletter, ''Best's Review'', a monthly digital & print magazine, and an online

wire service A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...

called ''BestWire''.

History

Founded in 1899 by

Alfred M. Best Alfred Magilton Best (August 31, 1876 – May 6, 1958) was an American insurance industry executive who founded the firm now known as AM Best to evaluate the financial stability of insurance companies, their ability to pay claims, as well as the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

company moved to Morristown, New Jersey, in 1965, and subsequently to Oldwick in 1974. It also maintains offices in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, Dubai, Mexico City, Singapore and a news bureau in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

While the company is best known in the United States, it is becoming increasingly well known in Europe, the Pacific Rim and Latin America. The company's London offices consist of A.M. Best Europe—Rating Services and A.M. Best Europe—Information Services. A.M. Best Asia-Pacific is located in Hong Kong and Singapore. A.M. Best America Latina is located in Mexico City. AM Best recently opened a branch of A.M. Best Europe in Amsterdam that provides Ratings Services.

References

External links

*
Guide to Best's Financial Strength Ratings
{{Authority control Companies based in Hunterdon County, New Jersey Credit rating agencies Financial services companies based in New Jersey Insurance industry organizations Tewksbury Township, New Jersey Financial services companies established in 1899

Business

History

See also

References

External links