CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The list of Ward's 50^® top performing insurance companies was released by Ward Group, an operational consulting firm and leading provider of benchmarking and best practices services to the insurance industry.

Annually, Ward Group analyzes the financial performance of over 3,100 property-casualty insurance companies and over 800 life-health insurance companies domiciled in the United States and identifies the top performers in each segment. This group is called the Ward's 50 for the year. Each Ward's 50 company has passed all safety and consistency screens and achieved superior performance over the five years analyzed. The Ward's 50 property-casualty group of insurance companies produced a 14.4% return on average equity from 2004 to 2008 compared to 9.9% for the property-casualty industry overall. The Ward's 50 life-health group of insurance companies produced a 13.5% return on average equity from 2004 to 2008 compared to 6.4% for the life-health industry overall.

The past 18 months have been a volatile period for the insurance industry affecting companies in many different ways. "Volatility in the investment portfolios, economy and competitive landscape has forced companies to evaluate many of their business strategies," explains Jeff Rieder, President of Ward Group. "In selecting the Ward's 50, we identify companies that pass financial stability requirements and measure their ability to grow while maintaining strong capital positions and underwriting results."

Safety and Consistency Tests

Insurance companies are evaluated and must pass minimum thresholds to be considered for the Ward's 50 designation. Each company must pass the following primary safety and consistency tests:

• Surplus and premiums of at least $50 million for each of the five years analyzed
• Net income in at least four of the last five years (property-casualty)
• Adjusted net income in at least 4 of the last 5 years. (life-health)
• Risk-based capital ratio of at least 100% (property-casualty) or 150% (life-health) for each of the five years analyzed
• Compound annual growth in premiums between -10% and +40%

Performance Measurements


Companies that pass the safety and consistency tests are measured and scored on the following elements:

• Five year average Return on Average Equity
• Five year average Return on Average Assets
• Five year average Return on Total Revenue
• Five year growth in Revenue
• Five year improvement in Surplus to Written Premium (property-casualty)
• Five year average Combined Ratio (property-casualty)
• Five year growth in Surplus (life-health)

Managing Growth and Profitability

An important objective of the Ward's 50 is to compare their performance as a group with the rest of the industry. Compared to the industry as a whole, the benchmarks set by the Ward's 50 life-health group of companies were nearly three times more for total surplus growth and two times more for premium income growth. The Ward's 50 property-casualty group compared seven points lower for the five year combined ratio and two times greater for surplus growth than the industry average. Net premiums written grew 10.1% compared to the industry's 1.8%. "The results for the Ward's 50 benchmarks indicate that companies are able to grow the business profitably in changing market conditions," Mr. Rieder observed.

Although the largest risks for insurance companies are losses resulting from the investment portfolio and claims, it is important for companies to stay focused on managing the ongoing risk that exists within the day to day operations. Ward Group's research consistently finds top performing companies operate with fewer resources without deteriorating the customer experience. "Top performers understand that efficient operations result in pricing advantages passed on to the consumer and keep the customer at the center of every key business decision." In 2008, expenses relative to revenue were 5.5% lower for the Ward's 50 property-casualty group of companies and 8.5% lower for the Ward's 50 life-health group.

The Ward's 50 benchmarks are helpful tools to compare an insurance company's financial results to the top performers in the industry. Comparisons based on benchmarks set by the Ward's 50 group of companies are included in the Ward's Results books, an insurance industry financial reference series. Ward's 50 benchmark group comparisons for individual companies are also available on-line at www.wardinc.com.

About Ward Group^®

Ward Group is a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and the leading provider of industry benchmarking and best practices services, with expertise in staffing level analysis and expense management. We help companies measure results, optimize performance and be more profitable.

2009 Ward's 50 Top Performers - Life-Health Companies

(listed alphabetically)

Aetna Life Insurance Company

AFLAC

American Family Life Insurance Company

American Fidelity Assurance Company

American Republic Insurance Company

Amica Life Insurance Company

Anthem Blue Cross Life & Health Insurance Co.

Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company

Baltimore Life Insurance Company

Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America

BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas

Centurion Life Insurance Company

CIGNA Group

Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company of MI

Federated Life Insurance Company

Fidelity Investments Life Insurance Company

Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company

General Re Life Insurance Corporation

Gerber Life Insurance Company

Health Net Life Insurance Company

HM Life Insurance Company

Homesteaders Life Company

HumanaDental Insurance Company

Liberty National Life Insurance Company

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Midland National Life Insurance Company

National Guardian Life Insurance Company

National Life Insurance Company

New York Life Insurance Company

Ohio National Life Insurance Company

Ozark National Life Insurance Company

Pacific Guardian Life Insurance Company

Pekin Life Insurance Company

Physicians Mutual Insurance Company

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company

Sentry Life Insurance Company

Shelter Life Insurance Company

Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co.

Standard Insurance Company

State Farm Life Insurance Company

Symetra Life Insurance Company

Tennessee Farmers Life Insurance Company

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

TIAA-CREF

United Healthcare Insurance Company

United Life Insurance Company

Unum Life Insurance Company of America

USAA Life Insurance Company

USAble Life Insurance Company

Western & Southern Life Insurance Company

2009 Ward's 50 Top Performers - Property-Casualty Companies

(listed alphabetically)

Acuity

American Modern Insurance Group

Amerisafe

Assurant Group

Auto-Owners Insurance Group*

Balboa Insurance Company

Bear River Mutual Insurance Company

Brethren Mutual Insurance Company

Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company

Capital Insurance Group

Central Insurance Companies

Chubb Group

Cincinnati Insurance Group*

The Commerce Group, Inc.

The Doctors Company

Donegal Insurance Group

Erie Insurance Group

Farmers Mutual Insurance of Nebraska

Federated Mutual Group

Fireman's Fund Insurance Group

First Insurance Company of Hawaii, LTD

FM Global

GEICO*

Great American Insurance Companies

Hastings Mutual Insurance Company

HCC Insurance Holdings Group

ICW Group Insurance Companies

Island Insurance Companies Group

Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation

Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insur. Co.

North Star Mutual Insurance Company

Ohio Mutual Insurance Group

Old Republic Insurance Group

Philadelphia Insurance Companies

ProAssurance

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company

RLI Insurance Group*

Rural Mutual Insurance Company

Safety Insurance Group

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

Vermont Mutual Insurance Company

Virginia Farm Bureau

W.R. Berkley Corporation Group

Western National Insurance Group

*19-year recipient (1991-2009)



Ward Group

Betty Cornelius

bcornelius@wardinc.com

or

11500 Northlake Drive, Suite 305

Cincinnati, Ohio 45249-1662

513-791-0303

Fax: 513-985-3442

www.wardinc.com

Source: Ward Group