Fitch Ratings Affirms Mercury General's Ratings; Outlook Stable

(RTTNews) - Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that it has affirmed the 'A' Issuer Default Rating on Mercury General Corp. (MCY) and the 'A+' Insurer Financial Strength ratings on the company's subsidiaries.

Additionally, Fitch has affirmed the 'A' IDR on Mercury General's subsidiary, Mercury Casualty Co., and 'A' rating on Mercury Casualty's secured bank debt.

The Rating Outlook is Stable.

Fitch said the affirmation reflects Mercury General's very strong capitalization, low financial leverage and significant interest coverage, improvement in underwriting results in the first nine months of 2014 and solid competitive position in California. Partially offsetting these positives are the concentration risks arising from the company's product and geographic focuses as well as the execution risk associated with its efforts to diversify geographically.