Latest S&P Headlines
All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Revises its Outlook on Aegon and Core Subs to Negative; Affirms Ratings
May 2 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Netherlands-based AEGON N.V. and its core subsidiaries to negative from stable. Concurrently S&P affirmed its ‘A+/A-1’ counterparty...
Ratings Roundup: Greenville, Delphi, First American, American Family, Well Point
Apr 25 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘B’ (Fair) and issuer credit rating of “bb+” of Greenville Casualty Insurance Company, and has revised the outlook to positive from...
Liberty Mutual to Acquire Safeco Insurance in $6.2B Deal
Apr 23 2008 // Liberty Mutual Group has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Safeco Corp. for $68.25 per share in cash in a deal that will make Liberty Mutual the fifth largest U.S. property/casualty insurer and...
S&P Puts Liberty and Safeco on CreditWatch Negative
Apr 23 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ratings on both Liberty Mutual Group Inc. (LMGI) and Seattle-based Safeco Corp on CreditWatch with negative implications, following the announcement that Liberty...
Soft Market’s Effect on Premium Volume Doesn’t Have to Hinder Revenue
Apr 21 2008 // Soft market’s effect on premium volume doesn’t have to hinder revenue Premium volume may be down for independent agencies across the country but that doesn’t mean agency revenue is down for some of the...
Ratings Roundup: African Trade, FIATC
Apr 17 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings has assigned its long-term ‘A’ counterparty and insurer financial strength ratings to Kenya-based African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)with a stable outlook. “The...
S&P: QBE, IAG Ratings Unchanged After Rejected Merger Proposal
Apr 16 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ‘A+’ ratings on the core operating entities of QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (currently ‘A-‘ with a stable outlook) are unchanged after...
Ratings Recap: Interstate Auto, EMC, Amica Mutual, CAPCO, CMG Mortgage, Clarendon
Apr 16 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘B-‘ (Fair) from ‘B’ (Fair) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “bb-” from “bb+” of Interstate Auto...
S&P, Best See no Ratings Changes as Brandon Leaves Gen Re
Apr 15 2008 // Neither Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services nor A.M. Best Co. anticipate making any ratings changes as a result of Joseph Brandon’s leaving his post as CEO of General Reinsurance Corp. S&P rates Gen Re...
RenRe to Buy Agro National’s Assets; No Rating Effect Says S&P
Apr 14 2008 // Bermuda-based property reinsurer RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has agreed to acquire the assets of Agro National, a managing general underwriter of crop insurance. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The...
Berkshire Hathaway Municipal Bond Insurer Wins Top S&P Rating
Apr 14 2008 // Billionaire Warren Buffett’s new municipal bond insurance company Friday won the top “AAA” rating from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which cited the venture’s nearly $1 billion...
S&P Rates Berkshire Hathaway Assurance ‘AAA’; Outlook Stable
Apr 14 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘AAA’ financial strength and financial enhancement ratings to Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp. (BHAC). S&P also assigned its...
Ratings Recap: PMI Australia, Feuersozietaet, Avalon Re, Ste. General de Réassurance
Apr 14 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its insurer financial strength rating on the Australian mortgage insurer PMI Mortgage Insurance Ltd. (PMI Australia) by one notch to ‘AA-‘ from...
S&P Report on U.K. Insurance Market – Stable Despite Cycle, Economic Risks
Apr 10 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ latest review of the U.K. insurance market – “Insurance Industry Risk Analysis: U.K. Economic Risk Increases But Unlikely To Put Pressure On Non-Life...
Ratings Roundup: Imagine, Amerigroup, American Modern/Midland
Apr 10 2008 // Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘A-‘ insurer financial strength (IFS) ratings of Imagine Insurance Company Limited (Imagine) and Imagine International Reinsurance Limited with stable outlooks. “The...
S&P Lowers Ratings on 4 Mortgage Insurers; Conference Call Today
Apr 9 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has lowered its counterparty credit rating on four U.S. Mortgage insurers as follows: MGIC Investment Corp. to ‘BBB’ from ‘A-‘ and its...
Credit Agency Downgrades U.S. Mortgage Insurers
Apr 9 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Tuesday downgraded four U.S. mortgage insurers, including MGIC Investment Corp’s arm, citing a worse-than-expected housing slump. The credit agency said most companies...
S&P Warns Soft Market Could Mean Downgrades for Commercial Insurers
Apr 9 2008 // The U.S. commercial lines property/casualty insurance “soft” pricing cycle will likely mean outlooks on some commercial lines insurers will be revised to negative in the second half of 2008, according to...
Ratings Roundup: DBV-Winterthur, Sul America, PXRE, Electro Re
Apr 7 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘AA’ counterparty credit and insurer financial strength rating to German insurers DBV-Winterthur Lebensversicherung AG, DBV-Winterthur...
Ratings Roundup: Argonaut, Mitsui (China)
Apr 4 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ counterparty credit rating on Argonaut Group Inc. (AGI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. and its...
