View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2023/08/10/734907.htm
Cameron Mutual Insurance Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, Cameron National Insurance Company, were placed into rehabilitation this week by the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri. Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) Director Chlora Lindley-Myer was named rehabilitator for both companies.
As the rehabilitator, the DCI Director assumes management of the company, attempts to correct existing problems, continues operations, maintains policyholder accounting, and develops a plan of rehabilitation or petitions the Court for liquidation.
Based in Cameron, Missouri, Cameron Mutual is licensed in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. The company provides property and casualty insurance, and its lines of business include personal (primarily homeowners and auto coverage), commercial, and farm. Cameron National National is a property and casualty insurer licensed in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, but has no active policies.
An order of rehabilitation notice posted on Cameron Mutual’s website states the rehabilitation proceeding was prompted by a significant decline in Cameron Mutual’s financial condition.
“Cameron Mutual has been experiencing a slow decline in market share, and the lines of business it writes are highly competitive. It is geographically concentrated in areas impacted repeatedly by severe storms, resulting in major losses this year,” DCI said in a statement.
AM Best withdrew credit ratings of Cameron Mutual in July as the company requested to no longer participate in AM Best’s rating process. AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B (Fair) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bb” (Fair) of Cameron Mutual and offered a negative credit ratings outlook.
Cameron Mutual experienced capital erosion in each of the last four calendar years, eroding surplus by nearly 50% over the most recent five-year period.
“Management has been challenged by its limited profile that is primarily concentrated in Missouri (with modest exposure in Arkansas and Iowa), offering personal auto, farmowners, personal property and commercial multi-peril products,” AM Best said. “Furthermore, while management continues to refine the company’s risk portfolio in an effort to reduce aggregate exposure and volatility, these mitigation strategies have yet to gain material traction.”
Cameron Mutual pursued affiliation agreements with other mutual insurers and refocusing on small commercial and farm business lines where it could be more competitive, DCI said.
incorporated in 1892, Cameron Mutual is one of Missouri’s oldest mutual insurance companies. The had approximately 26,215 policyholders and 1,247 open claims as of July 31, 2023. Cameron Mutual’s existing policies are not cancelled by the order of rehabilitation.
Policyholders, claimants, agents, brokers, attorneys, and other persons with questions regarding Cameron Mutual or National should visit http://insurance.mo.gov/companies/receiv.php.
Source: DCI, AM Best