AM Best has revised its outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ‘a’ (Excellent) for Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Company and Western Agriculture Insurance Company, both located in West Des Moines, Iowa, and collectively known as the Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Group.
The Credit Rating (Rating) reflects Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Group’s balance sheet strength (assessed as strongest by AM Best), as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
The change in the rating outlook to stable from negative reflects the continued improvement in Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Group’s operating performance measures over the recent period. After being adversely affected by inflationary trends, severe weather-related losses and unfavorable loss provision developments in 2022 and 2023, results started to turn around for the better starting in the second half of 2024.
The improvements were primarily due to a greater emphasis on rate adequacy and numerous underwriting and policy changes, including but not limited to deductible changes, more stringent coverage values and risk management techniques and loss mitigation efforts.
Notably, the combined ratio was around 80 as of the end of 2025, achieving solid underwriting profits, a trend that continued in the results to June 30, 2026. AM Best expects that in the near term, results will continue to be stable and consistent with an adequate assessment of operating performance.
Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Group has the strongest balance sheet strength assessment, reflecting its strongest overall level of risk-adjusted capital (as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR)), policyholder earnings growth for much of the past decade, a conservative and high-quality portfolio, multiple sources of financial flexibility, and improved loss reserve trends in recent years. AM Best assesses the business’s profile as neutral, given the group’s market dominance as the nation’s largest farmer underwriter and policyholder surplus of more than $2 billion.
AM Best said that despite this, the group’s operations are concentrated in only eight major states and are therefore vulnerable to potentially severe and frequent weather events, as well as regulatory, market and event risks in the areas in which it operates.
Finally, AM Best provides an appropriate assessment of the Group’s enterprise risk management, supported by a well-established framework that is well aligned with the risk profile and continues to mature and evolve as market conditions change.
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