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AM Best turns GUARD Insurance outlook to stable after underwriting losses
AM Best kept GUARD’s A+ Financial Strength Rating and affirmed “aa-” long term issuer credit ratings, citing improved results tied to underwriting corrections and support from National Indemnity.
AM Best has revised the outlook on the member companies of Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies to stable from negative, while affirming the groups A+ Financial Strength Rating and “aa-” long-term issuer credit ratings. The rating action, announced August 12, applies to AmGUARD, EastGUARD, NorGUARD, WestGUARD, and AZGUARD, which operate under an intercompany pooling agreement. The outlook had been negative since August 2025, after GUARD posted underwriting losses across 2023, 2024, and 2025, including material reserve strengthening in lines such as commercial auto and business owners’ policies. AM Best said the negative outlook reflected the sustained losses and the corrective steps GUARD took in response. In moving the outlook back to stable, AM Best pointed to progress in GUARD’s operating trajectory, rather than simply maintaining prior ratings. The agency cited continued explicit and implicit financial support from GUARD’s immediate parent, National Indemnity Company, along with early positive results from the underwriting corrections GUARD implemented over the past two years, which included discontinuing its underperforming admitted personal lines business and re-underwriting its commercial auto and BOP books. AM Best also noted GUARD installed an almost entirely new senior leadership team during the two years preceding the earlier assessment, with the mandate to restore operating performance. Even with the improved outlook, AM Best said it will continue monitoring GUARD closely and could take further rating action if performance does not track peer benchmarks despite the changes already made.