Latest S&P Headlines
All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Reinsurers’ Capital Can Absorb Sandy Losses Below $50 Billion: S&P
Nov 14 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that the reinsurance sector’s strong capital and very strong earnings thus far in 2012 will allow it to withstand losses well outside the range of current insured...
Hurricane Sandy Losses Should Not Affect Most Insurer Ratings or Premiums: S&P
Oct 31 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it expects Hurricane Sandy to have only limited impact on the ratings on U.S. property/casualty insurers, global reinsurers, and certain catastrophe bonds. Although it...
S&P to Factor Country Risk into Insurance Ratings
Jun 1 2012 // Standard & Poor’s will change the way it assigns global ratings to insurers, in part to increase the consideration of country risk in the way a company is evaluated, the credit ratings agency said on...
S&P Lowers India’s Rating Outlook to Negative; Investment Rating in Peril
Apr 25 2012 // Standard & Poor’s cut India’s credit rating outlook on Wednesday to negative from stable, reflecting the toll that hefty fiscal and current account deficits and political paralysis are exacting on...
S&P Revises Argentina’s Sovereign Debt Rating Outlook to Negative
Apr 24 2012 // Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on Argentina’s sovereign debt rating to negative from stable on Monday, citing policies that include a government push to seize control of energy company YPF from...
Ratings Agencies Respond to The Hartford’s Plan to Exit Life Insurance
Mar 21 2012 // In response to Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.’s planned exit from some of its life insurance business, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services said it is downgrading the subsidiaries previously aggregated...
Connecticut Urges Other States to Sue Credit Rating Agencies
Mar 8 2012 // Connecticut officials are encouraging other states to consider suing credit-rating agencies that gave high grades to risky mortgage-backed securities that plummeted in value when the housing market collapsed in...
UPDATE: S&P Sees No Rating Change for Ariel Re from C&S Sale to Arch
Mar 6 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has followed up on its analysis of its ratings for Bermuda-based Ariel Reinsurance Co. Ltd. following the announcement that it is selling its Bermuda-based business to Arrow, a...
Best, S&P React to Ariel Re Sale of Bermuda, Zurich Units
Mar 5 2012 // Both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s issued bulletins following the announcement that Ariel Re was selling off its Bermuda-based reinsurance business to Arrow, a unit of investment Bank Goldman Sachs, and its...
S&P: Excess Capital, Strong ERM Give Reinsurers 2011 Cat Loss Cushion
Jan 26 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it is “maintaining its stable outlook on the global reinsurance sector despite the near-record level of catastrophe losses in 2011,” as it...
Workers’ Compensation Turn a Profit? Fahgettaboudit!
Jan 23 2012 // Workers’ compensation carriers with visions of profits over the next few years are dreaming. It ain’t goin’ to happen, according to insurance analysts at Standard & Poors Ratings Services. “All...
S&P Follows up on Euro Zone Rating Actions
Jan 18 2012 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has followed up on the rating actions it announced in December concerning a number of Europe’s largest insurers. S&P has lowered its ratings on the following insurers...
S&P Sees ‘Highs and Lows’ for Canadian P/C Insurers
Dec 13 2011 // As 2011 winds down, Canadian property and casualty (P&C) insurers can “list some notable lows and highs during the year, including unusually large catastrophe losses from wildfires in Slave Lake, Alta., and...
S&P Puts Allianz, Aviva, AXA, Generali, Mapfre Units, 10 Other EU Insurers on CreditWatch/Negative
Dec 12 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings announced that it has placed its ratings on the following insurers (and certain related operating subsidiaries and certain holding companies) on CreditWatch with negative...
Terrorism Risk Still a Concern in Insurer Ratings: S&P
Dec 7 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it continues to view terrorism risk as a critical component in its assessment of an insurer’s financial strength, more than 10 years after the events of Sept. 11,...
S&P Affirms Marsh Mac’s Ratings; Outlook Revised to Stable
Nov 14 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Marsh & McLennan Cos. to stable from negative, and has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ long-term and ‘A-3’ short-term counterparty...
Ratings Roundup: Torus Specialty, Assurant, National American
Nov 10 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a-” of Torus Specialty Insurance Company and Torus National Insurance Company, both of...
S&P Lowers State Auto Group’s Operating Company Ratings to ‘BBB+’
Nov 10 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the operating insurance companies of State Auto Group to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A-‘. S&P...
S&P Lowers Outlook on Allstate and Subs to Negative; Affirms Ratings
Nov 3 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Allstate Corp., Allstate Insurance Co. (AIC), and its core property-liability insurance companies (collectively, Allstate Protection), as well as the...
S&P Affirms Montpelier Re Ratings; Outlook Stable
Nov 1 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB’ long-term counterparty credit rating on Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. and its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit and financial strength...
