AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of CNO Financial Group, Inc. and Its Life/Health Subsidiaries

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a” (Excellent) of the life/health insurance subsidiaries of CNO Financial Group, Inc. (headquartered in Carmel, IN) [NYSE: CNO]. These subsidiaries are collectively referred to as CNO Financial Group (CNO). Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb” (Good) and the Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IRs) of CNO Financial Group, Inc. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and Long-Term IRs.)

The ratings reflect CNO’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The affirmation of CNO’s ratings is reflective of the very strong balance sheet strength upheld alongside the strong operating performance. AM Best has observed CNO’s continued favorable premium growth trends through its diversified range of income sources, which has resulted in stable and consistent earnings growth in all lines of business. CNO has a well-diversified product portfolio under which its broad set of distribution channels offer a wide array of retirement, life, health and accident products. Liquidity remains a key strength of the balance sheet, as is the investment portfolio’s ability to reliably yield competitive returns.

Offsetting rating factors include CNO’s overall strain on capital as new business rapidly increases. To mitigate this, CNO also has used reinsurance strategically to move risk off its balance sheet into its Bermuda captive, CNO Bermuda Re Ltd. CNO operates in markets with a high degree of competition across all of its operating geographies and product offerings; however, the company maintains competitive market positions in all business segments.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a” (Excellent) have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following key life/health subsidiaries of CNO Financial Group, Inc.:

• Bankers Life and Casualty Company
• Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company
• Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company
• Washington National Insurance Company

The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with stable outlooks:

CNO Financial Group, Inc.—
- “bbb” (Good) on $500 million 5.25% senior unsecured notes, due 2029
- “bbb” (Good) on $700 million 6.45% senior unsecured notes, due 2034
- “bbb-” (Good) on $150 million 5.125% subordinated debentures, due 2060

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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