Knights of Columbus Earns Top Rating From A.M. Best for 40th Consecutive Year

Financial strength rated A++ (Superior)

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Aug 24, 2015, 01:15 ET

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Aug. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Citing the Knights of Columbus' strong presence in Catholic communities and its members' loyalty, ratings agency A.M. Best reaffirmed the K of C's rating of A++ (Superior) for financial strength. The rating agency's announcement marks the 40th consecutive year that the Knights of Columbus earned A.M. Best's highest marks.

The Catholic fraternal benefit society, founded in 1882 by the Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney to provide financial protection to Catholic families, has $99.1 billion of life insurance in force and $22 billion in assets under management. No insurer in North America is more highly rated than the Knights of Columbus.

"Knights and their families are not just customers, they are members of a fraternal family, united by their common bonds of faith and service," said Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus. "Our rating is a testament to our ethical and sustainable business philosophy, which combines good business decisions with an outlook that puts people before profits."

Anderson added that "a key to our organization's strength consists of our excellent agents, who are Knights of Columbus, and who view their brother Knights as family members."

Concerning the Knights of Columbus, A.M. Best noted: "Through conservative management, active fraternalism, and high-quality insurance products, the fraternal society has grown to a multi-billion dollar international insurance organization."

A.M. Best also reported: "Historically, the order's continued statutory gains from operations after dividends coupled with realized investment gains has enabled the order to build its adjusted unassigned funds in excess of needs to an exceptional level of risk-adjusted capitalization."

"As a result," said A.M. Best, "the order's investment earnings on surplus allows protection against market fluctuations and are used to produce dividends paid to policyholders, which aid in the sale and retention of its business. The currently strong risk-adjusted capitalization has resulted in considerable financial strength and provides it with substantial capital to support future growth opportunities."

The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal organization, with almost 1.9 million members worldwide. Last year, Knights set new records for giving, with more than $173.5 million and 71.5 million hours of service donated to charitable causes.

For the second year in a row, the Knights of Columbus was named a 2015 "World's Most Ethical Company" by the Ethisphere Institute — an independent center for research promoting best practices in corporate ethics and governance.

SOURCE Knights of Columbus