Chubb's 'A++' Affirmed

The 'A++' financial strength ratings of the property/casualty subsidiaries of The Chubb Corporation were affirmed by A.M. Best. The ratings apply to the 10 companies holding membership in the pool, which is led by Federal Insurance Co. and was recently expanded to include the former Executive Risk Group. As a result of their memberships in the pool, three members of the former Executive Risk Group were upgraded from 'A' to 'A+++.' Also affected are four international affiliates, considered by Best as core subsidiaries of Chubb.

S&P Affirms American General

The 'AA+' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the American General Financial group of insurance companies was affirmed by Standard & Poor's (S&P). Concurrently, the 'AA-' senior debt rating on American General Corp. was also affirmed. The outlook is stable.

EMC Insurance Ratings Lowered

The financial strength rating on Employers Mutual Casualty Co. and its related pool members was lowered from 'Api' to 'BBBpi' by S&P. At the same time, the 'BBBpi' on EMC pool member Farm and City Insurance Co. was affirmed.

21st Century Upgraded

The financial strength rating of 21st Century Insurance Company and its reinsured affiliate 21st Century Casualty Company, known collectively as the 21st Century Insurance Group, was upgraded from 'A' to 'A+' by A.M. Best.

Farmers Ins. Group Gets 'A+'

The financial strength rating of the Farmers Insurance Group was upgraded from 'A' to 'A+' by A.M. Best. The upgrade is applicable to the 18 members which comprise the group.

OCG Lowered

The counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the group of companies which make up the Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. Intercompany Pool (OCG) were lowered from 'A' to 'BBB+' by S&P. Concurrently, the 'BBB' counterparty credit rating on Ohio Casualty Corp. was lowered to 'BB+.' The outlook is stable.

PMA Insurance Group Gets 'A'

S&P assigned 'A' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Co., Pennsylvania Manufacturers Indemnity Co., and Manufacturers Alliance Insurance Co., known collectively as the PMA Insurance Group. The outlook is stable.

Monumental's 'AAA' Affirmed

The 'AAA' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Monumental General Casualty Company was affirmed by S&P. Pending a review of Monumental's strategic position with the Aegon USA group of insurance companies, the ratings were placed on CreditWatch with negative implications.

In a separate rating action, the 'AAA' counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Aegon Levensverzekering N.V. and Aegon Schadeverzekering N.V. were affirmed by S&P.

RCA Syndicate #1 Ltd. Assigned 'R'

An 'R' rating was assigned to RCA Syndicate #1 Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of L&W Holdings Inc., a Nevada-domiciled insurance holding company, by S&P.

On May 11, 2000, the company was placed under an order of conservation by the State of Illinois, which is supervising the company's liquidation process.