Latest S&P Headlines
All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P: U.S. Commercial Lines Outlook Revised To Negative From Stable
Aug 14 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its outlook on the U.S. commercial lines property/casualty insurance sector to negative from stable. Standard & Poor’s credit analyst John Iten explained...
Validus Files to Sell Shares; Best, S&P Assign Ratings
Aug 11 2008 // Bermuda-based Validus Holdings, Ltd. announced that it has filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “The registration statement, which became effective upon...
S&P: Munich Re Ratings ‘Unaffected’ by Reduced Earning Forecast
Aug 8 2008 // Following the release of Munich Re’s six-month earnings report (See above), Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ‘AA-‘ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength...
S&P Sees No Affect on AIG’s Ratings from Q2 Loss
Aug 8 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services indicated that its ratings on American International Group Inc. – currently ‘AA-‘ with a negative outlook/Debt ‘A-1+’ – and AIG’s...
Best, S&P See No Change in Hanover’s Ratings on AIX Purchase
Aug 7 2008 // A.M. Best Co. and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services have both indicated that The Hanover Insurance Group’s agreement to purchase all of the stock of AIX Holdings, Inc. (See related article) is unlikely to...
Ratings Roundup: AXIS, Itau XL, Topiary/Platinum
Aug 5 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of Bermuda-based AXIS Specialty Limited (AXIS) and its operating...
Ratings Roundup: Congregational, Abu Dhabi National
Aug 1 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on the UK-based Congregational & General Insurance PLC to ‘BB+’ from...
Ratings Recap: Hanover, Assurant, Wadena/IMT, Berkshire Hathaway, Finial
Aug 1 2008 // A.M. Best Co. and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services have both reacted positively to The Hanover Insurance Group’s (THG) announcement that has reached agreement to sell its remaining run-off life insurance...
Rating Agencies React Negatively to XL, SCA Bailout Plan
Jul 30 2008 // XL Capital received the inevitable negative reaction from the rating agencies following its announcement that it would pay $1.78 billion in cash and issue 8 million shares as part of a bailout plan to shore up former...
Ratings Recap: Endurance, ACR Re Takaful, Stoneheath Re, Nacional de Reaseguros, Emirates, Oriental
Jul 30 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB+’ counterparty credit rating on the Bermuda-based holding company Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. S&P also affirmed its ‘A’...
S&P Affirms Allianz ‘AA’ Ratings
Jul 30 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘AA’ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Germany’s Allianz SE (AZSE) and various core operating entities....
No Rating Change for Allstate after Loss Says S&P
Jul 28 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has announced that it is “taking no rating action on Allstate Corp. (NYSE:ALL; A+/Stable/A-1) or its subsidiaries following Allstate’s announcement that it had a...
Ratings: Imagine, Kuwait Re, Africa Re
Jul 28 2008 // Fitch Ratings has revised its rating outlook on Imagine Insurance Company Limited and Imagine International Reinsurance Limited (collectively, Imagine) to Negative from Stable. Fitch currently rates both with an insurer...
S&P Sees Continued Growth of Islamic Takaful in Risk Transfer Market
Jul 14 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it expects the global takaful sector to continue its rapid growth and to become a significant contributor to the global “risk transfer” market place. The...
Regional Brokerages Not Immune To Slump, Execs Say
Jul 14 2008 // Large regional insurance brokers won’t be immune from the cyclical downturn hitting many sectors of the insurance industry. Although geographic and product-line diversification will offer some protection from the...
Credit Rating Agencies Fending Off Lawsuits from Subprime Meltdown
Jul 14 2008 // Battered by critics who blame them for helping to foment the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown, credit raters are now trying to fend off lawsuits — including fraud claims brought by their own shareholders. Many...
S&P Advises Floods Could Lead to Ratings Actions on Midwest-Focused Insurers
Jul 11 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it does not expect the 2008 Midwest floods to impact ratings or outlooks for the majority of companies that it rates. However, property/casualty writers that are...
S&P Rates Polish Insurer as Stable
Jul 10 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services revised its outlook on non-life insurer Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen S.A. and life insurer Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen na Zycie S.A., core entities of Poland-based composite...
OneBeacon Files $1 Billion Shelf Registration; S&P Assigns Ratings
Jul 3 2008 // The Bermuda-based OneBeacon Insurance Group announced that it has filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Standard & Poor’s announced that it...
S&P: Affirms QBE’s Ratings; Praetorian Upgraded to Core Status
Jul 2 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on holding company QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (currently rated ‘A-‘) and QBE’s core...
