Latest S&P Headlines

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

Ratings Recap: Hyundai, Jupiter, Exchange, West England Club

Nov 12 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of South Korea’s Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (HMFI) with...

S&P Affirms Allianz ‘AA’ Ratings, Stable Outlook Despite Investment Losses

Nov 11 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘AA’ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Germany’s Allianz SE (AZSE) and various core operating...

Ratings on Munich Re ‘Unaffected’ by Q3 Earnings Decline Says S&P

Nov 10 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has said that its ratings and outlook on Germany’s global reinsurer Munich Reinsurance Co. (current ‘AA-‘ Stable outlook) and related core entities “are...

S&P Affirms PartnerRe’s ‘AA-‘ Ratings and Stable Outlook

Nov 10 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘A’ counterparty credit rating on Bermuda-based reinsurance holding company Partner Re Ltd. and its ‘AA-‘ counterparty credit and...

Ratings Recap: Arch Re (Europe), Singapore Re, AIG (Taiwan), Eurasia, Hyundai (China)

Nov 10 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A’ counterparty credit and financial strength ratings to Arch Reinsurance Europe Underwriting Ltd. (Arch Re Europe), a newly formed Ireland-based...

S&P Affirms AXIS’ Ratings; Positive Outlook

Nov 6 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB+’ counterparty credit rating on Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. and its ‘A’...

S&P Outlook Turns Negative on AIG Units, Ratings Downgrade Possible

Nov 6 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised the CreditWatch status of its ratings on a number of American International Group Inc.’s P/C subsidiaries and other units with ratings derived from guarantees...

S&P Says Swiss Re’s ‘AA-‘ Ratings ‘Unaffected by Q3 Net Loss’

Nov 5 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ‘AA-‘ insurer financial strength and long-term counterparty credit ratings on Zurich-based global reinsurance group Swiss Reinsurance Company (Swiss...

Ratings Recap: Am. Safety, ProAssurance, AMComp, Affirmative, WRM America

Nov 5 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of American Safety Insurance Group (ASI). Best also affirmed the ICR of...

S&P Rates ACE Insurance (Switzerland) ‘A+’; Outlook Stable

Nov 4 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its ‘A+’ financial strength rating to ACE Insurance (Switzerland) Ltd. (AISL), a newly formed subsidiary of Switzerland-based insurance and reinsurance...

S&P Affirms AEGON’s Ratings

Oct 30 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘A+/A-1’ long- and short-term counterparty credit ratings on Netherlands-based insurance group AEGON N.V. S&P also affirmed its...

Ratings: Max Capital, Flagstone Re (Africa), VIG RE, Alliance, Syndicate 1414

Oct 30 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘BBB-‘ counterparty credit ratings on Max Capital Group Ltd. and Max USA Holdings Ltd. The outlook on both companies remains positive. “The...

S&P Affirms Hannover Re’s ‘AA-‘ Ratings and Stable Outlook

Oct 29 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘AA-‘ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on German reinsurer Hannover Rueckversicherung AG and its core entities...

S&P Says QBE, PMI Australia Ratings, Outlooks Unchanged

Oct 24 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ‘A-‘ rating on Australia’s QBE Insurance Group Ltd. and its ‘A+’ ratings on QBE’s core operating entities remain unchanged...

Lawmakers Blast Rating Agencies for Role in Financial Crisis

Oct 23 2008 // The top executive of Moody’s warned his board in 2007 that the quality of credit ratings was in danger due to trends that could “place the entire financial system at risk.”The confidential briefing was...

S&P Affirms ING’s Group Ratings; Outlook Remains Stable

Oct 22 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its ‘AA-/A-1+’ counterparty credit ratings on both ING Groep N.V. and ING Verzekeringen N.V. S&P also affirmed its ‘AA/A-1+’...

S&P Affirms ACE ‘A-‘ Counterparty Rating; ‘A+’ on Operating Companies

Oct 20 2008 // In a corrected version of an earlier release (the headline was incomplete), Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed both its ‘A-‘ counterparty credit rating on ACE Ltd. and it’s...

Business Moves

Oct 20 2008 // Liberty Mutual, Safeco, S&PBoston-based Liberty Mutual Group is not pleased by Standard & Poor’s announcement that it was lowering the company’s financial strength rating from “A” to...

S&P Report Sees Opportunities In Saudi Arabia Insurance

Oct 16 2008 // In its latest report on the insurance market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Insurance And Reinsurance In The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Economic And Industry Risks Exist, But Market Prospects Remain Strong –...

S&P Article Finds Global Insurers Weathering Credit Turmoil – So Far

Oct 16 2008 // In a newly published article – Global Insurers Weather The Credit Turmoil–Thus Far – Standard & Poor’s credit analysts have concluded that “many of the largest insurers around the world...