AM Best has revised the outlooks of Florida Farm Bureau Group’s members to positive from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “bbb+” (Good).
Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company and its fully reinsured subsidiary, Florida Farm Bureau General Insurance Company, collectively make up the Florida Farm Bureau Group.
In November 2023, AM Best placed the group’s ratings under review with negative implications, following a considerable decline in key balance sheet strength metrics.
The revised ratings reflect Florida Farm Bureau Group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, alongside its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The outlook revision to positive is largely driven by improvements in its operating results, including better rate adequacy across core lines of business and key underwriting actions taken by management, which improved the quality of risks.
AM Best noted, “In response to several years of volatile underwriting results, Florida Farm Bureau Group implemented significant rate increases, as well as deductible adjustments, non-renewals of certain classes of business, stricter underwriting guidelines and additional reinsurance coverage, all of which were aimed at improving profitability. These actions, along with significant regulatory and legislative changes in the Florida property market resulted in a favorable trend starting in 2024 when the group recorded its first underwriting gain in several years. In 2025, further benefiting from a lack of hurricane activity in the state of Florida and various reforms, this trend continued as evidenced by a sub-80s combined ratio and an underwriting profit nearing $60 million, which contributed to considerable policyholders’ surplus growth.”
Overall, operating performance trends remain favourable through year-to-date 2026, and AM Best expects the group to remain profitable in the near term despite its exposure to natural catastrophes, ultimately resulting in key operating performance metrics that fall closer in alignment with the adequate assessment level.
The ratings also reflect Florida Farm Bureau Group’s strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio, alongside improved underwriting and reserve leverage, as well as a turnaround in loss reserve development trends, all supporting its strong balance sheet strength assessment.
AM Best continued, “Florida Farm Bureau Group maintains a limited business profile, owed primarily to its single state geographic concentration and product concentration as a predominant personal property writer in the state of Florida. Still, the business profile benefits from its exclusive agency business model. ERM capabilities are aligned with the group’s risk profile, and a comprehensive reinsurance program is maintained, which mitigates tail risk and reduces the net probable maximum loss of a hurricane event to less than 10% of policyholders’ surplus. Lastly, Florida Farm Bureau Group continues to benefit from the implicit and explicit support provided by its parent, Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company.”
