Latest S&P Headlines

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

S&P: U.S. Insurers Cautious to Respond to Soaring Cyber Demand

Sep 7 2015 // Standard & Poor’s predicts a major jump in demand for cyber insurance in the coming years, with interest initially outstripping supply. U.S. insurers will respond gradually, however, entering the market with...

Cyber Risk Insurers Lag in Buying Cyber Cover

Sep 7 2015 // As recently as two years ago, only half of the top 10 carriers writing cyber insurance had purchased cyber coverage themselves, a broker specialist said recently.During an interview at the Standard & Poor’s 2015...

S&P Report Urges Discipline as Reinsurers Adjust Exposure to Cat Risk

Sep 3 2015 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has released a report – “Discipline Is Necessary As Reinsurers Adjust Their Exposure To Catastrophe Risk” – that examines diverging attitudes to...

Reinsurance Price Drops Moderating? Yes and No, Say Rating Agencies

Sep 1 2015 // Two of the property/casualty insurance industry’s ratings entities – Fitch and Standard & Poor’s – do not see eye-to-eye on whether reinsurance price declines are moderating.Fitch sees the downward...

S&P: Reinsurance M&A Will Be Driven by Berkshire Hathaway Model

Aug 28 2015 // Reinsurance M&A activity should continue well into 2016 as competitive pressures continue unabated, Standard & Poor’s said in a new report.The ratings firm said that the Berkshire Hathaways of the world –...

Insurers Unlikely to Be Impaired by Claims From Tianjin Port Explosion: S&P

Aug 21 2015 // Insurers are unlikely to be impaired by the loss claims from the explosions in the Chinese Port of Tianjin last week, according to a report from Standard & Poor’s.“Based on our initial investigation, we...

S&P: ILS Investors Could Get Burned as Covered Perils Expand, Terms Widen

Aug 19 2015 // The catastrophe bond market will continue to grow by 10 to 20 percent per year, driven in part by the increase in covered perils and the broadening of event definitions, according to a report published by Standard &...

S&P Maintains Ironshore on CreditWatch Negative Pending Fosun Approvals

Aug 10 2015 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has extended its CreditWatch with negative implications on Ironshore Inc. and Ironshore Holdings (U.S.) Inc. for another 90 days. A.M. Best took a similar...

McGraw Hill to Pay $2.2 Billion for SNL Financial

Jul 27 2015 // McGraw Hill Financial Inc. agreed to buy SNL Financial, the financial news and data services provider owned by buyout firm New Mountain Capital, for about $2.23 billion to add content on the banking and insurance...

Supreme Court Opinion to Have No Effect on Health Insurers: S&P

Jul 6 2015 // The Supreme Court opinion upholding current tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will not have any impact on rated U.S. not-for-profit and for-profit health insurance firms because it continues the current...

Supreme Court Opinion To Have No Effect on Health Insurers: S&P

Jun 25 2015 // Today’s Supreme Court opinion upholding current tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will not have any impact on rated U.S. not-for-profit and for-profit health insurance firms since it continues the...

Cyber Security – ‘a Fast Growing Emerging Risk’ for Companies – S&P Reports

Jun 10 2015 // “For corporate borrowers, as well as Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ assessment of credit quality, cyber risk is a growing source of concern, given the increasing frequency of reported...

S&P Revises Outlook on Fairfax Financial to Stable; Affirms Ratings

May 4 2015 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. to stable from negative. At the same time, we affirmed our ‘BBB-‘ long-term counterparty credit rating on...

Bermuda Sovereign Downgrade Does Not Affect Bermudian (Re)Insurers: S&P

Apr 30 2015 //

Willis Ratings ‘Not Affected’ by Gras Savoye Proposed Acquisition: S&P

Apr 24 2015 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ratings on Willis Group Holdings plc (BBB-/Positive/–) “are not affected by the company’s proposed acquisition of the remaining 70 percent that...

Climate Change to Worsen Nat Cat Impact on Creditworthiness: S&P Report

Apr 21 2015 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a report warning that, “while recent history shows that natural catastrophes may have not been a major rating factor on corporate credit quality in the past,...

How 10% of S&P Firms ‘Reform’ Taxes on Their Own

Apr 15 2015 // When it comes to taxes, corporate America is getting a bit less corporate. And a bit less American.Fueled by a wave of inversions, a record 54 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of leading U.S. firms...

Former S&P Europe Insurance Head Clemens Joins Litmus Analysis

Apr 13 2015 // Litmus Analysis announced that Karin Clemens, the former head of S&P’s European insurance rating practice, is joining Litmus. She “will bring even further experience in ratings to the Litmus team, working...

Insurers Face Earnings Growth Challenges in Varying Global Economy: S&P

Mar 31 2015 // When it comes to finding earnings growth in 2015, the challenge facing the global insurance industry will be uneven economic conditions in many parts of the world, according to a report released by Standard &...

S&P Removes AXIS, Partner Re from Credit Watch; Affirms Ratings

Mar 16 2015 // AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. And PartnerRe Ltd. Ratings Affirmed, Removed From CreditWatch Negative; Outlook StableStandard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its ‘A-‘ long-term...