Latest S&P Headlines
All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
AIG’s Plan to Divest Life & Retirement Business Could Prompt Ratings Downgrades
Nov 2 2020 // American International Group’s plan to downsize by divesting its Life & Retirement (L&R) business is drawing cautious and wary reactions from rating agencies that follow the property/casualty insurance...
Reinsurers’ Investment Strategies Offer Buffer for Low Interest Rates, Pandemic: S&P
Oct 30 2020 // A decade of low interest rates and tough underwriting conditions has led reinsurers to cautiously invest in riskier and more illiquid assets to generate additional return. The good news is that this strategy also has...
Ascot Names S&P’s Guijarro as U.S. Chief Risk Officer
Oct 1 2020 // Specialty insurer Ascot announced the appointment of Steve Guijarro as U.S. chief risk officer and group head of Exposure Management. Guijarro will have primary responsibilty for Ascot’s enterprise risk management...
Reinsurance Sector Can Expect More Negative Rating Actions over Next Year: S&P
Sep 9 2020 // Despite the global reinsurance sector’s “robust capital position” and “very high rate rises,” which are expected to “carry on for the remainder of year, and continue for major renewals...
S&P Says Underwriting in Lloyd’s Market Continues to Improve
Sep 7 2020 // The Lloyd’s market looks unlikely to turn an underwriting profit in 2020 given the pandemic and hurricane season. However, there are signs of improvement, according to analysts at S&P Global Ratings. S&P...
S&P Says Underwriting in Lloyd’s Market Continues to Improve
Aug 21 2020 // The Lloyd’s market looks unlikely to turn an underwriting profit in 2020 given the pandemic and hurricane season. However, there a signs of improvement, according to analysts at S&P Global Ratings. S&P notes...
Second Wave of Coronavirus Lockdowns Could Weaken Insurers’ Capital Buffers: S&P
Jul 14 2020 // Global insurers have proven resilient during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, as their capital strength has helped stave off widespread downgrades; however, insurers’ capital buffers will erode through the...
S&P’s Outlook for AGCS Revised to Negative on ‘Weak Underwriting Performance’
Jun 18 2020 // S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook on Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) to negative from stable, while at the same time affirmed the insurer’s “AA” financial strength and...
S&P Pegs Coronavirus Losses at $15-$30B. Chief Risk Officers Think That’s Low.
Jun 9 2020 // Analysts for Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings shared a view that U.S. underwriting losses from COVID-19 would fall in the $15-$30 billion range. However, risk officers speaking at a rating agency conference last...
S&P Affirms Munich Re’s ‘AA-‘ Ratings, Reflecting Sufficient Capital for COVID-19 Crisis
May 29 2020 // S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its “AA-” long-term issuer credit and financial strength ratings for Munich Re and its subsidiaries, with a stable outlook. The stable outlook reflects S&P’s view...
States Will Not Win in Mandating Coronavirus Business Interruption Coverage: S&P
May 18 2020 // Standard & Poor’s said it does not expect state legislators to succeed in their efforts to retroactively expand business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses. The reason: An expectations of...
S&P Expects States to Lose Bids to Mandate Coronavirus Business Interruption Coverage
May 4 2020 // Standard & Poor’s said it does not expect state legislators to succeed in their efforts to retroactively expand business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19-related losses. The reason: An expectations of...
P/C Insurance Least Likely to Default Due to Coronavirus: S&P Credit
Apr 20 2020 // Compared to others, the property/casualty insurance industry is weathering the coronavirus crisis rather well. Property/casualty insurance is the least-impacted industry by the coronavirus pandemic, at least so far,...
Insurers’ Pause of Dividends Likely Shows Caution, Rather Than Credit Risks: S&P
Apr 17 2020 // Some global regulators are advising insurers to suspend dividend payments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If insurers do, they won’t have to worry about their credit quality, S&P Global Ratings said in a...
P/C Insurance Is Industry Least Likely to Default Due to Coronavirus: S&P Credit Analysis
Apr 13 2020 // Compared to others, the property/casualty insurance industry is weathering the coronavirus crisis rather well. The property/casualty insurance is the least-impacted industry by the coronavirus pandemic, at least so far,...
COVID-19 Pandemic Threatens Gulf Insurers’ Earnings: S&P Report
Apr 2 2020 // The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and tumbling oil prices threaten the earnings of insurers in the Gulf, S&P Global Ratings said on Wednesday, possibly leading to negative rating actions. “Most insurers...
Aon and Willis Towers Watson Say Merger Is All About ‘Getting Better, Not Bigger’
Mar 10 2020 // There are several talking points that are evident about the planned merger of broking giants Aon and Willis Towers Watson. First, it’s not about getting bigger; it’s about getting better. And, second,...
EXOR to Sell PartnerRe to French Insurer Covea for $9 Billion
Mar 4 2020 // EXOR has agreed to sell PartnerRe to French mutual insurer Covéa, a move that is turning out to be a very profitable thing for the Italian investment firm. EXOR bought the Bermuda-based reinsurer in March 2016 for $6.72...
Swiss Re Will Absorb Poor 2019 Earnings, Says S&P
Feb 21 2020 // S&P Global Ratings said that even though Swiss Re performed materially below expectation for its 2019 earnings, the ratings agency expects the group to maintain its risk-based capital above the “AA” level,...
Coronavirus Clouds U.S. Outlook But Economic Impact Should be Modest: S&P
Feb 12 2020 // The coronavirus outbreak in China is clouding the global outlook and leading to both business caution and potential overall weakness in U.S. growth, according to S&P Global. However, given its limited exposure, the...
