A Harrisburg, Pa.-based property-casualty insurance company had its ratings withdrawn by A.M. Best Co. because it merged into its affiliate, Praetorian Insurance Co.

A.M. Best said it withdrew the financial strength rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Redland Insurance Co. and assigned a category NR-5 (Not Formally Followed) to the FSR and an “nr” to the ICR.

Effective March 31, 2010, the intercompany reinsurance pooling agreement between Redland and Praetorian, also based in Harrisburg, Pa., was cancelled. As a result, the FSR of A- (Excellent) and ICR of “a-” of Praetorian Financial Group, of which Redland and Praetorian were members, also were withdrawn, and a category NR-5 (Not Formally Followed) was assigned to the FSR and an “nr” to the ICR. Consequently, Praetorian is now rated on a stand-alone basis, and A.M. Best said it affirmed its FSR of A- (Excellent) and ICR of “a-” with a stable outlook.