A Long Beach, N.Y.-based insurer has had its outlook raised to “positive’ by a ratings service, which says its corrective actions are working.

A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook from “stable” and affirmed the financial strength rating of “B+” (Good) and issuer credit rating of “bbb-” of North Sea Insurance Co., a regional, standard lines, commercial property-casualty insurance company that writes business in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The ratings reflect North Sea’s solid risk-adjusted capitalization and improved operating and underwriting results in recent years, driven by various corrective actions, including enhanced systems to monitor, track and price risks, the ratings service said. The ratings also take into account the recent acquisition of North Sea, originally licensed in 1979, by Lancer Financial Group Inc., which may lead to future synergies, the ratings service suggested.

But it said North Sea’s operating personnel and near-term business plans remain essentially unchanged.

These strengths are offset by North Sea’s historically high expense ratio, pockets of modest adverse loss reserve development and the challenges associated with being geographically concentrated in the New York metropolitan region, which exposes the company to a highly litigious environment and catastrophic events, both natural and man-made, according to the A.M. Best analysis.

The positive outlook is supported by the company’s risk-adjusted capital position, improved profitability and A.M. Best’s expectation that these trends will continue over the near term, it said.