S&P Places Aon Corp. Ratings on WatchNeg

The ratings of Aon Corp. (Aon) and fellow subsidiaries were put on CreditWatch with negative implications by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on April 20.

The rating action came subsequent to Aon’s announcement that it would be spinning off its underwriting businesses to existing shareholders. Companies affected by the proposed spin-off include Combined Insurance Co. of America, Combined Life Insurance Co. of NY, Virginia Surety Co. Inc., London General Insurance Co. Ltd. and Aon Warranty Group Inc.

S&P’s expressed concerns that note holders of Aon paper will lose the benefits of diversification and capital support afforded by Aon’s ownership of the insurance operations.