OREANDA-NEWS. A.M. Best has assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” to National Western Life Group, Inc. (NWLG) (headquartered in Austin, TX) [NASDAQ:NWLI]. The outlook assigned to the rating is stable. Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the ICR of “a” of National Western Life Insurance Company (NWLIC) (Denver, CO). The outlook for each of these ratings is stable. NWLG is the recently formed parent holding company of NWLIC.