Apex Insurance outlook cut to negative as AM Best affirms ratings

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Apex Insurance outlook cut

Highlights

AM Best revised Apex Insurance's outlook to negative from stable while affirming its Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of 'a-'.
AM Best cited increasing earnings volatility and deterioration in Apex's operating performance for 2025 and H1 2026 as reasons for the outlook change.
Despite performance pressures, AM Best expects Apex's balance sheet strength to remain very strong, supported by parent Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.'s ongoing strategic and financial support.

Rating action and performance concerns

As reported by AM Best, the ratings agency revises Apex's outlooks to negative from stable and affirms its Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent). The agency says the ratings continue to reflect Apex's very strong balance sheet strength, adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

AM Best says the outlook change reflects volatility and deterioration in Apex's operating performance in 2025 and the first half of 2026. It adds that performance measures are beginning to fall below the levels expected for the company's adequate operating assessment, with earnings volatility remaining a concern.

Parent support and North America coverage role

Even with those pressures, AM Best expects Apex's balance sheet strength assessment to remain at the very strong level. The agency says business prospects remain favorable because of Apex's role as an insurer, its strategic importance to parent Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc., and the financial flexibility available to the company.

AM Best also expects Apex to execute its future business strategy and continue to benefit from Bright Horizons' implicit and explicit support, given its integration within the broader enterprise. Apex covers general liability exposures in North America, including professional liability, physical and sexual misconduct, and personal and advertising injury, for Bright Horizons, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies.

Bright Horizons is a global provider of early education and childcare, back-up care and workforce education services, serving more than 1,450 employers worldwide.

In our earlier article, we covered AM Best’s planned New York briefing on the delegated underwriting authority enterprises (DUAE) market and what it could signal for 2027. The session agenda highlighted performance benchmarks, emerging risks, capacity and rate trends, M&A activity, and fronting-market developments, alongside discussion of AM Best’s Performance Assessments framework for DUAEs.

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