S&P’s Assigns Patterson Insurance Co. ‘R’ FSR

Standard & Poor’s assigned its ‘R’ financial strength rating to Patterson Insurance Co. (Patterson) because of the company’s ongoing liquidation.

Patterson was placed into liquidation on March 17, 2003, by the 19th
Judicial District Court, East Baton Rouge Parish, La. “Insurance regulators initiated these proceedings based on questions about the value of the company’s fixed assets, which it used to back policies and claims. Patterson’s liquidation was also brought about by claims filed as a result of Hurricane Lili and Tropical Storm Isidore,” explained Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Ovadiah Jacob. Prior to the liquidation order, the company was put under conservation and ordered to cease writing policies in December 2002.

Patterson was a property/casualty insurer doing business in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. As of Dec. 2002, the company had 29,000 policyholders.