Buckle, a tech-enabled financial services company, announced its licensed carrier, the Gateway Insurance Company, has been assigned a Financial Stability Rating® (FSR) of A, Exceptional, from Demotech, Inc.
In June, Buckle announced the acquisition and recapitalization of Gateway, including its 47 state insurance licenses. Through its digital fronting strategy™, Buckle has expanded insurance coverage to include transportation network companies (TNCs), traditional taxi, limo, and livery businesses using Lyft, Uber, and other apps.
“A Demotech rating enables us to continue the rapid advance of our digital insurance strategies in new and exciting ways,” said Marty Young, co-founder of Buckle. “We purchased, capitalized, seasoned, and relaunched Gateway all in one day. Two months later, we are successfully writing taxi and limo policies in 33 states with our partner, Anchor Group Management, Inc. and plan to expand into a total of 40 in the near term.”
This level of Financial Stability Rating (FSR) is assigned to insurers who possess exceptional financial stability related to maintaining positive surplus as regards policyholders, liquidity of invested assets, an acceptable level of financial leverage, reasonable loss and loss adjustment expense reserves (L&LAE) and realistic pricing.
FSRs summarize Demotech’s opinion of the financial stability of an insurer regardless of general economic conditions or the phase of the underwriting cycle. FSRs utilize statutory financial data based on insurance accounting principles prescribed or permitted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Since 1989, FSRs of A or better have been accepted by the major participants in the secondary mortgage marketplace.
