A.M. Best puts West of England P&I Club ratings under review

Credit rating agency A.M. Best Co. has placed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of "a-" of The West of England Ship Owners Mutual Insurance Association (Luxembourg) (WOE) under review with negative implications.

The West of England Club is a major international P&I insurer with an entered tonnage of over 70 million gross tons owned, operated and chartered by members worldwide. It is a member of the International Group of P&I clubs.

A.M. Best says it has placed the club's ratings under review "following weakening of the club's risk-adjusted capitalization as a result of substantial investment losses and poor anticipated underwriting performance. Although the club benefits from a USD 53.3 million outstanding additional call on the 2006 policy year, A.M. Best no longer believes this is sufficient to offset these factors."

A.M. Best says the West of England Club is "likely to address its weakened risk-adjusted capitalization, and the rating has been placed under review while A.M. Best assesses the impact of the club's actions. The review is likely to be completed by early December 2008. Failure of the club to take any action could lead to a rating downgrade."