Latest S&P Headlines
All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Rates Hannover Re Africa “BBB”
Mar 26 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned a “BBB-” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings to Hannover Reinsurance Africa Ltd. (Hannover Re...
S&P Upgrades Outlook on 7 Japanese Insurers
Mar 24 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised the outlooks to stable from negative on its financial strength and long-term counterparty credit ratings on seven Japanese insurance...
S&P Affirms Fairfax ‘BBB’ / ‘BB’ Ratings
Mar 24 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its ‘BBB’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.’s (FFH) ongoing operating...
S&P Rates Penn National ‘BBB’
Mar 18 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its ‘BBB’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to Pennsylvania National Mutual Casualty Insurance Co. and its wholly...
S&P Affirms SAFECO Corp. and P/C Subsidiaries Ratings
Mar 18 2004 // Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its ‘BBB+’ long-term counterparty credit rating on Seattle-based SAFECO Corp. and its ‘A+’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on the members...
S&P Affirms White Mountains ‘BBB-‘ Ratings
Mar 17 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its “BBB-” counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on the Bermuda-based White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. (WTM), with a stable...
S&P Reports Top Layer Reinsurance Ltd. ‘AA’ Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Stable
Mar 17 2004 // Standard & Poor’s has affirmed its ‘AA’ counterparty and financial strength ratings on Top Layer Reinsurance Ltd. The outlook is stable. Top Layer Re is a 50%/50% joint venture between State Farm...
Best, S&P Comment on R&SA Results
Mar 12 2004 // A.M. Best Co. and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services have both issued comments indicting that their ratings on the U.K.’s Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc will not be affected by the...
S&P Reports Cumberland Casualty & Surety Co. Ratings Revised to ‘R’
Mar 10 2004 // Standard & Poor’s has revised its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Florida-based Cumberland Casualty & Surety Co. (CCS) to ‘R’ from ‘Bpi’. This rating action was...
S&P Lowers Connecticut Medical Ratings to ‘BBpi’
Mar 9 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Connecticut Medical Insurance Co. to “Bpi” from...
S&P Affirms Inter-Ocean Re ‘A’ Rating; Outlook Revised to Negative
Mar 5 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on Inter-Ocean Reinsurance Co. Ltd. (IORe) to negative from stable, but has affirmed its ‘A” counterparty credit and...
S&P Report Examines U.S. Insurer Failures in 2003
Mar 3 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings announced that it has published an article that examines failures among U.S. insurers in 2003. “The number of U.S. insurance failures fell to its lowest five-year level in 2003...
S&P Assigns Arch Capital ‘BBB-‘ Rating
Feb 24 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned its announced that it has assigned a “BBB-” counterparty credit rating to the Bermuda-based Arch Capital Group Ltd., with a stable outlook. “The...
S&P Says WTC Trial Outcome Not a Rating Factor For Insurers
Feb 19 2004 // As the signature lawsuit from Sept. 11, 2001, makes its way through the federal court system, there is no foreseeable impact on insurer ratings, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. “Under the...
Ohio Casualty’s Q4 Profit Down 5%; 260 Laid Off; S&P Revises to Stable
Feb 17 2004 // Insurer Ohio Casualty Corp. announced that its 2004 fourth-quarter profit was $27.7 million, down 5 percent from last year’s $29.1 million. Meanwhile, the Fairfield, Ohio-based company boasted that a company-wide...
Navigators Strengthens Asbestos Reserves; Best, S&P Comment
Feb 16 2004 // The Navigators Group, Inc. announced that it expects to record a net pre-tax charge of approximately $31.6 million for incurred losses related to asbestos exposures, after expected reinsurance recoveries million of...
Harleysville Ups Loss Reserves; Expects Full Year Loss; S&P Comments
Feb 12 2004 // Pennsylvania’s Harleysville Group Inc. (HGIC) announced that it is increasing loss reserves for prior accident years by $42 million pre-tax, or $0.92 per share after tax, in the fourth quarter of 2003, reflecting...
S&P Revises Outlook of AXA U.K. Subs; Affirms ‘A+’ Ratings
Feb 11 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on U.K.-based insurers AXA Insurance U.K. PLC, AXA General Insurance Ltd., and AXA Direct Insurance Ltd. (collectively AXAI) to...
S&P Foresees Conflict between U.S. Insurers, Reinsurers
Feb 3 2004 // According to a new report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, “reinsurance companies are trailing U.S. insurers in their recognition of inadequate reserves, and as their backing turns to bad debt,...
S&P Announces Lower Ratings on PMA Capital
Feb 2 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services made several announcements concerning PMA Capital Corp.’s (PMACA) credit ratings. It has lowered its counterparty credit rating on PMACA to “CC” from...
