Latest S&P Headlines

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

Cat Bonds Becoming a Common Alternative to Reinsurance, S&P Says

Mar 17 2006 // The insurance industry is turning more frequently to catastrophe bonds, according to an article titled “Catastrophe Bonds: Assessing A Risky Business,” which was published by Standard & Poor’s...

Harleysville Group Inc. Outlook Revised To Stable

Mar 17 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its outlook on Harleysville, Pa.-based Harleysville Group Inc. to stable from negative.Standard & Poor’s also said that it affirmed its...

S&P Bulletin Recognizes AXA’s Auto Policy Securitization

Mar 10 2006 // The London office of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued a statement indicating that it will “recognize a capital relief in its capital adequacy model for AXA Group (core insurance operating...

Hannover Re Reorganizing U.S. Business with Praetorian Launch; S&P Ratings and Comments

Mar 8 2006 // Germany’s Hannover Re has announced a fundamental restructuring its U.S. primary insurance business. “All specialty business – henceforth the strategic focus – is to be transferred to the newly...

S&P, Best Comment on Generali Plans

Mar 7 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and A.M. Best Co. both issued brief bulletins commenting on Generali’s earnings announcement and its plans for the future, which include issuing new hybrid securities...

S&P Rates Nipponkoa-Europe ‘A’

Mar 3 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “A” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings to U.K.-based NIPPONKOA Insurance Co. (Europe) Ltd....

S&P Raises Neftepolis Ratings to ‘B’

Mar 2 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has raised its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Russia-based insurer Neftepolis Insurance Co. LLC to “B”...

S&P Downgrades PXRE to ‘BBB-‘

Feb 24 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Bermuda-based PXRE Reinsurance Ltd. and U.S.-based PXRE Reinsurance Co. (collectively...

S&P: Insurer Reserving For Soft Market Years Remains Problematic

Feb 24 2006 // Confidence in the reserve adequacy of U.S. insurers increased modestly for accident years 2003 and 2004, according to Standard & Poor’s, but the rating agency said insurers’ ability to attain adequate...

IAG Reports $340.7 Million 6 Month Profit; To Return $147.8 Million; S&P Sees No Rating Change

Feb 23 2006 // Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG), the country’s biggest auto and home insurer, posted a six-month profit for the period ended Dec. 31, 2005 of A$461 million (US$340.7 million). However, overall policy sales...

S&P Rates Kuwait Projects Co.

Feb 22 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “BBB-” long-term and “A-3” short-term corporate credit ratings to Kuwait-based holding company Kuwait Projects Co....

S&P Keeps Swiss Re on CreditWatch as GE Deal Nears Closing

Feb 21 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it would keep both GE Insurance Solutions (GEIS) and Swiss Re on its CreditWatch list, as they continue to work on their agreement to sell GE’s insurance...

S&P reports favorable workers’ comp outlook

Feb 19 2006 // The outlook for the U.S. workers’ compensation sector in 2006 is good, with the ratings impact for insurers expected to be neutral on the whole, according to a report from Standard & Poor’s Ratings...

S&P Affirms Alea Group ‘BBB’ Ratings; Withdrawn at Company Request

Feb 15 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its ‘BBB’ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on all Alea group operating entities: Alea Europe AG,...

S&P Sees Growth in Spain

Feb 15 2006 // In a recent report- “Insurance Industry Risk Analysis: Spain (Kingdom of)” – Standard & Poor’s predicted further growth in the Spanish economy and indicated that the “current relatively...

S&P Affirms, Withdraws QBE (U.K.) Ratings Following Consolidation

Feb 13 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its long-term “A+” counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on U.K.-based non-life insurer QBE Insurance Co. (U.K.)...

S&P Comments on ‘Alien Reinsurer’ Collateral Requirements

Feb 13 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has published an article titled, “Credit FAQ: Hotly Debated Collateralization Rule Change May Affect Insurer/Reinsurer Capital Needs,” which examines several of the...

S&P Affirms Ceska’s ‘BBB’ Rating

Feb 1 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has affirmed its “BBB” long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Czech insurer Ceska pojistovna a.s. (Ceska) with a...

S&P Notes Rise in Islamic Compliant (Takaful) Insurance

Feb 1 2006 // The London office of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has issued two reports on the increasing volume of insurance business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which, for S&P, raises the question...

S&P Maintains Positive Outlook on NZ’s Simply Insurance

Jan 31 2006 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that its “B” insurer financial strength rating on Simply Insurance New Zealand Ltd. remains on CreditWatch with positive implications.S&P explained...