Latest S&P Headlines

All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.

S&P Affirms AIG’s ‘AAA’ Ratings

Mar 31 2004 // To no one’s surprise Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its ‘AAA’ counterparty credit rating on American International Group Inc. and similar high ratings on...

S&P Affirms Legal & General’s ‘A’ Debt Rating

Mar 31 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has “affirmed its ‘A’ long-term junior subordinated debt rating on U.K.-based Legal & General Group PLC’s (L&G; AA-/Stable/A-1+)...

S&P Upgrades NZ Insurer Promina Outlook to Positive

Mar 29 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised the rating outlook on Promina Group Ltd. to positive from stable, and affirmed the holding company’s “A-” long-term counterparty...

Progressive Named Top S&P 500 Performer

Mar 28 2004 // Mayfield Village, Ohio-based vehicle insurer Progressive Corp. was selected as the top performing company in the S&P 500, according to the eighth annual analysis by Business Week magazine. Last year, Progressive was...

S&P Assigns ‘A+’ rating to RAM Holdings Debt

Mar 26 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned an “A”+” rating to RAM Holdings Ltd.’s (RAM Holdings) $40 million debt offering. S&P explained that the...

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...