All the headlines from our S&P Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oct 10 2008 // Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services raised its rating for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. from “A+” to “AA-.” S&P noted that the upgrade reflects its enhanced view of the...
Oct 10 2008 // U.S. life insurers Lincoln National Corp. and ACE Ltd reassured investors that they have enough capital, but credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s cut its outlook for the industry on Friday.The Progressive...
Oct 7 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed certain of its ratings on the insurance entities of Fortis group on CreditWatch as follows: –With positive implications, the ‘A’ long-term...
Oct 6 2008 // The emergency loan and the recent announcements that American International Group plans to sell off some of its assets (See related articles) doesn’t seem to have impressed the rating agencies. Both A.M. Best and...
Oct 6 2008 // Rating analysts are taking a second look at The Hartford Financial Services Group in light of its recent hit on Wall Street, third quarter investment losses and infusion of outside capital.Analysts at A.M. Best Co. have...
Oct 6 2008 // Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is not pleased with Standard & Poor’s announcement that it is lowering the company’s financial strength rating from ‘A’ to ‘A-‘ with a stable...
Oct 6 2008 // Liberty Mutual Group is protesting Standard & Poor’s lowering of the company’s financial strength rating from “A”to “A-” with a stable outlook, following Liberty’s completion...
Sep 24 2008 // Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) and Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings of Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. (LMG) and Safeco Corp. (SAF) as follows: LMG–Long-term IDR to...
Sep 23 2008 // A report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ Paris office – “Global Financial Institutions Eye Another Wave Of Write-Downs As U.S. Housing Woes Spread -” forecasts that global...
Sep 23 2008 // A study, released in London by Standard & Poor’s Risk Solutions, analyzes the 2007 year end financial returns of UK SME’s [small and medium enterprises]. It found that, “not surprisingly,” the...
Sep 21 2008 // Credit rating agencies, criticized for moving too slowly in cutting ratings on Wall Street firms and the complex instruments they devised, are now accused of acting too quickly.As the credit crisis enters a new phase, the...
Sep 18 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services will hold a telephone conference call today, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008, at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time to discuss the recent credit events shaking the financial institutions...
Sep 18 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised the CreditWatch status of most of its ratings on the AIG group of companies to CreditWatch developing from CreditWatch negative. The revisions affect its...
Sep 18 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its long-term counterparty credit rating and insurer financial strength rating on AIG General Insurance (Taiwan) Co. Ltd. (AIG Taiwan), to ‘A’ from...
Sep 16 2008 // Following Ike’s march through Texas, S&P noted that the preliminary estimates of insured losses “vary from $6 billion to $18 billion. (These figures include onshore and offshore exposure.)”Before...
Sep 16 2008 // “All natural catastrophe (nat-cat) bonds share some common features, but indemnified nat-cat bonds are much more closely related to the practices of the ceding company than non-indemnified structures,” said...
Sep 12 2008 // A report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services notes that the “natural catastrophe (nat-cat) bond market has come a long way since S&P rated its first true nat-cat bond a decade ago.”“As...
Sep 11 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd. as well as the ICR of “bbb-” of...
Sep 9 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published two reports, coinciding with the Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monte Carlo, which examine the reinsurance industry’s progress in implementing risk management...
Sep 9 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has concluded that “Europe’s insurers are allowing themselves to be caught up in the gloom that shrouds equity and capital markets.” In a report entitled...