A.M. Best acquires TRAC

U.S.-based A.M. Best Company has announced it has acquired TRAC Insurance Services Ltd. — an independent Canadian insurance rating agency — and renamed it A.M. Best Canada Ltd.

The acquisition of Toronto-based TRAC is the latest step in A.M. Best’s global expansion. Over the past three years, the 100-year-old rating agency has more than tripled its international staff. In 1997, it opened an office in London and last year it acquired London-based Financial Intelligence & Research Ltd., renaming it A.M. Best International.

TRAC has been reporting on the financial solvency of Canadian insurance companies since 1982. The company was founded by David Wilmot, a Toronto-based reinsurance executive, and Bill Andrus, TRAC’s current president. The company rates more than 230 p&c insurers and more than 110 life insurers in Canada.

“TRAC has provided a valuable service to the life and property & casualty industry to brokers and consumers in Canada. We believe A.M. Best, with its exceptional resources, can take this service to the next level,” says Don Smith, TRAC chairman.