...Integral Part of Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe: All public-sector insurers in Germany are owned by and are an integral part of Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (SFG, IDR: A+/Stable; see Related Research). The Provinzial NordWest group (PNW) and therefore the ratings of Westfaelische Provinzial Versicherung AG (WPV) and Provinzial NordWest Lebensversicherung AG (PNW Leben) benefit from being owned by SFG. Strong Position in Germany: Consolidated public-sector insurers form the second-largest sub-group in the primary insurance market in Germany. They therefore have a strong market position, which is supported by most of SFG's savings banks (Sparkassen) exclusively distributing public-sector insurers' products. Solid Capitalisation: Fitch Ratings' risk-based analysis deems PNW's capitalisation to be strong. The group's capitalisation is supported by sound reserving practices. Strong Non-Life Underwriting Performance: WPV has had strong underwriting performance in recent years. In 2013, it achieved a net...
