Latest S&P Headlines
All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P’s Places ACE Ltd., Subsidiaries Ratings on CreditWatch Neg
Jan 28 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has placed its ‘A-/A-2’ counterparty credit rating on ACE Ltd. on CreditWatch with negative implications because of ACE’s announcement that it will strengthen its asbestos...
Disquieting Developments at Kemper/Lumbermens Mutual
Jan 27 2003 // Even being in business for over 90 years doesn’t seem to assure financial stability these days. 2002 was not a good year for the Chicago-based Kemper Group, headed by Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, a leading...
Disquieting Developments at Kemper/Lumbermens Mutual
Jan 27 2003 // Even being in business for over 90 years doesn’t seem to assure financial stability these days. 2002 was not a good year for the Chicago-based Kemper Group, headed by Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, a leading...
S&P’s Revises Western Growers Ins. Co. Rtgs to ‘R’
Jan 24 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it revised its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Western Growers Insurance Co. to ‘R’ from ‘CCCpi’. “The ratings...
S&P Expects Australian Insurers to Handle Bushfires’ Effects
Jan 24 2003 // Standard & Poor’s issued a bulletin indicating that it is “monitoring the effect of the Australian bushfire crisis on the local insurance industry, given that estimates of the insurance claims bill are...
S&P Continues AMP Group CreditWatch
Jan 24 2003 // Standard & Poor’s may not envision any downgrades for Australian P/C insurers hit by bushfire losses (See previous article), but this doesn’t apply to the country’s AMP Group. The rating agency...
S&P’s Revises Casualty Reciprocal Exchange Rtgs. to ‘R’
Jan 22 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has revised its financial strength rating on Casualty Reciprocal Exchange (CRE) and Equity Mutual Insurance Co. (EMI) to ‘R’ from ‘CCCpi’ after a county court judge...
S&P’s Lowers Rtgs. on Farm Bureau Mutual Co., Western Agricultural
Jan 22 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Iowa-based Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. (Farm Bureau) and Western Agricultural Insurance Co. (Western Agricultural) to...
S&P Continues Gerling “CreditWatch;” May Change Ratings
Jan 22 2003 // Standard & Poor’s issued a bulletin confirming that the primary insurance entities of Germany’s Gerling insurance group “remain on CreditWatch following further discussions with the group’s...
S&P Revises Austrian Insurance Market Outlook to “Stable”
Jan 22 2003 // Standard & Poor’s announced that it has revised its outlook for rated Austrian insurers to stable from negative, indicating that insurer financial strength ratings are more likely to remain the same than to be...
S&P Lowers Farmers & Mechanics Mutual Ratings to ‘Bpi’
Jan 16 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on West Virginia-based Farmers & Mechanics Mutual Insurance Co. to ‘Bpi’...
S&P Affirms Portugal’s Seguros e Pensoes Ratings
Jan 14 2003 // Standard & Poor’s announced that it has removed from CreditWatch and affirmed its ‘BBB+’ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on the operating entities of the...
S&P’s Takes Off Watch, Affirms Fireman’s Fund Ratings
Jan 13 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has removed from CreditWatch and affirmed its ‘A+’ counterparty and financial strength ratings on Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. and related entities (FFIC) because of support...
Fairfax Cos. Under Review
Jan 13 2003 // Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s and A.M. Best initiated rating actions on Fairfax Financial Holdings Inc. (Fairfax) and its subsidiaries, including TIG Insurance Group—Dallas, Ranger Insurance Group, and...
ERC Ratings Lowered
Jan 13 2003 // S&P’s lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Employers Reinsurance Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, ERC) to “AA-” from “AA+” because of...
S&P’s Assigns Grange Mutual Insurance Co. ‘R’ FSR
Jan 10 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it assigned its ‘R’ financial strength rating to Ore.-based Grange Mutual Insurance Co. upon learning that the company has filed for bankruptcy protection...
S&P’s Lowers Insurance Co. of West and Related Ratings to ‘BBpi’
Jan 10 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has lowered to ‘BBpi’ from ‘BBBpi’ its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Insurance Co. of the West (83.5 percent) and its qualifying inter-affiliated...
S&P’s Outlook on Italian Insurance Market is “Negative,” but “Improving”
Jan 9 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has just completed a review of the Italian insurance market, and announced that “the ratings outlook for the market is negative, reflecting an expected downward trend in insurer financial...
S&P’s Cuts Traders Insurance. Co. Ratings to ‘Bpi’
Jan 8 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Traders Insurance Co. (Traders) to ‘Bpi’ from ‘BBpi’. “The rating action is based on the...
S&P’s Assigns SAFECO’s $775M Shelf Preliminary Ratings
Jan 7 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that it assigned its preliminary ‘BBB+’ senior debt, ‘BBB’ subordinated debt, and ‘BBB-‘ preferred stock ratings to Seattle-based...
