AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Rodeo Insurance Company

AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of 'a+' (Excellent) to Rodeo Insurance Company (Rodeo) (Houston, TX).

The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Rodeo's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

Rodeo's balance sheet strength is supported by the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), appropriate investment mix and robust loss reserves. The balance sheet is protected further by Sooner Insurance Company's (Sooner) 100% reinsurance of Rodeo's risk.

Rodeo's strong operating performance assessment is based on its consistent operating profitability and return metrics. The company's minimal loss experience reflects its pass-through function to its reinsuring parent, Sooner, for claims on exposures filed by its policyholder and ultimate parent, ConocoPhillips [NYSE: COP].

Rodeo's limited business profile assessment reflects its relatively narrow geographic concentration. Rodeo is a Texas-domiciled single-parent captive, wholly owned subsidiary of Sooner, which is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of ConocoPhillips. Rodeo mainly provides property damage and excess liability coverage to ConocoPhillips for its risks only in Texas.

Rodeo's ERM demonstrates a culture of risk awareness and a framework to identify and manage its risks continually, including periodic reviews of its potential loss exposures through a specialist within industrial risks, a process AM Best views as very appropriate for the company's risk profile. The ratings also benefit from the implicit and explicit support of its parent, Sooner, and ultimate parent, ConocoPhillips, and the strategic role the captive plays in its ERM program.

AM Best remains the leading rating agency of alternative risk transfer entities, with more than 200 such vehicles rated in the United States and throughout the world. For current Best's Credit Ratings and independent data on the captive and alternative risk transfer insurance market, please visit www.ambest.com/captive.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.