AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Oxford Life Insurance Company and Its Subsidiary

AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a” (Excellent) of Oxford Life Insurance Company (Oxford Life) (Phoenix, AZ), and its subsidiary, Christian Fidelity Life Insurance Company (Dallas, TX), which are collectively referred to as Oxford Group. These companies are owned by the group’s ultimate parent, U-Haul Holding Company [NYSE: UHAL, UHAL.B], which is also the parent of U-Haul International, Inc., North America’s leading “do-it-yourself” household moving and self-storage operator.

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Oxford Group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The negative outlooks reflect internal control deficiencies in the areas of financial reporting and general ledger account reconciliations that were uncovered during Oxford’s 2023 statutory audit. Although AM Best believes these deficiencies have been remediated fully and internal controls have been reestablished by management, this will need to be confirmed in the 2024 audit opinion expected mid-year 2025. Oxford’s operating performance is expected to remain adequate despite a modest statutory loss in 2023.

Oxford is a multistate, multiline insurance group offering multiyear guaranteed annuities, fixed annuities, final expense and Medicare supplement products. The ratings are supported by Oxford’s very strong balance sheet assessment which has benefited historically from consistent surplus growth. Premium growth has been driven by higher sales of the group’s individual annuity products, specifically its multiyear guaranteed annuity product. The group has maintained a history of profitable earnings, driven primarily by consistent net investment income and positive earnings in its annuity and Medicare supplements lines of business.

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. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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