FPIC INS GRP : A.M. Best Comments on The Doctors Company, An Interinsurance Exchange's Proposed Acquisition of FPIC Insurance Group, Inc. and Its Subsidiaries

A.M. Best Co. has commented that the issuer credit rating (ICR) of FPIC Insurance Group, Inc. (Jacksonville, FL) [NASDAQ: FPIC] is unchanged following the announcement that its ultimate parent company has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by The Doctors Company, An Interinsurance Exchange (The Doctors Company). The financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and ICR of "a-" of FPIC Insurance Group (FPIC) and its members also are unchanged, as are the FSR of A- (Excellent) and ICR of "a-" of FPIC Insurance Group, Inc.'s separately rated subsidiary, Advocate MD Insurance of the Southwest, Inc. (Advocate MD) (Austin, TX).

As one of the nation's leading writers of medical professional liability and the nation's largest physician owned medical liability writer, The Doctors Company should help augment FPIC's proven commitment to provide exceptional product and service capabilities to its core clients. Over the last four years, The Doctors Company has acquired other similar companies and has assimilated the business and operational risks of those entities into its organization successfully, without any decline in the level of service provided. FPIC has benefited from the modest financial leverage and considerable financial flexibility of its publicly-traded parent to date. A.M. Best expects FPIC to continue benefiting from the debt-free balance sheet and substantial financial wherewithal of its new ultimate parent.

The ratings are unchanged due to FPIC's stand-alone attributes including its strong risk-adjusted capitalization, favorable operating performance, specialty expertise and leading position within the medical liability insurance market. Advocate MD also maintains strong capitalization, in addition to historically generating organic earnings and producing high policyholder retention levels. Like FPIC, Advocate MD should benefit from the balance sheet strength of The Doctors Company, the commitment of its new parent to serving Advocate MD's core client base of physicians in Texas, and to a lesser degree, those in Mississippi. Conversely, FPIC and Advocate MD should help The Doctors Company expand its geographic footprint.

The principal methodology used in determining these ratings is Best's Credit Rating Methodology -- Global Life and Non-Life Insurance Edition, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process and highlights the different rating criteria employed. Additional key criteria utilized include: "Rating Members of Insurance Groups"; "Risk Management and the Rating Process for Insurance Companies"; "A.M. Best Ratings & the Treatment of Debt"; and "Understanding BCAR for Property/Casualty Insurers." Methodologies can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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A.M. Best Company
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