The Ward Group has released its top 50 P&C insurance companies in the United States, and the list looks significantly different from just one year ago.

Annually, the Ward Group analyzes the financial performance of more than 3,100 U.S. P&C insurance companies and identifies the top performers through a two-step process. Companies being considered must first pass minimum thresholds, which include the following:

• Surplus and premiums of at least $50 million for each of the five years analyzed.
• Net income in at least four of the last five years.
• Risk-based capital ratio of at least 100 percent for each of the five years analyzed.
• Compound annual growth in premiums between -10 percent and +40 percent.

Companies that pass this initial screening are then measured and scored on the following elements and the top 50 are selected:

• Five-year average return on average equity.
• Five-year average return on average assets.
• Five-year average return on total revenue.
• Five-year growth in revenue.
• Five-year improvement in surplus-to-written-premium.
• Five-year average combined ratio.

When compared to the rest of the industry, this year's top 50 had a five-year combined ratio that was seven points lower than the rest, and a surplus growth that was two times greater than others, on average. Net premiums written grew 10.1 percent compared to the industry's 1.8 percent.

Sixteen companies on this year's list were not on the list last year, a change of more than 30 percent. Those companies included: Amerisafe, Balboa Insurance, Bear River Mutual, Brethren Mutual, Brotherhood Mutual, Capital Insurance, The Doctors Company, Farmers Mutual of Nebraska, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Hastings Mutual, ICW Group Insurance, Ohio Mutual, Rural Mutual, Vermont Mutual, Virginia Farm Bureau, and Western National Insurance.