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Insurance ratings actions: S&P acts on AMP Life, Santam

S&P Global Market Intelligence compiles ratings actions in the insurance space daily through 5 p.m. ET. Actions after 5 p.m. ET will be included in the following day's roundup.

U.S. and Canada

A.M. Best affirmed the A- financial strength rating and "a-" long-term issuer credit rating of members of Hallmark Insurance Group. The rating agency also affirmed the "bbb-" long-term issuer credit rating of its parent Hallmark Financial Services Inc. The outlook is stable.

The members are American Hallmark Insurance Co. of Texas, Hallmark Insurance Co., Hallmark Specialty Insurance Co., Hallmark County Mutual Insurance Co. and Hallmark National Insurance Co.

The ratings reflect the group's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, and its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

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A.M. Best downgraded the financial strength rating to A- from A and the long-term issuer credit rating to "a-" from "a" of Farmers Automobile Insurance Association and its wholly owned subsidiary, Pekin Insurance Co. The outlook was revised to stable from negative.

The rating agency also affirmed the A- financial strength and "a-" long-term issuer credit rating of Pekin Life Insurance Co. The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect the companies' balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, their marginal operating performance, neutral business profiles and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The downgrade reflects the rating agency's revision of the company's operating performance assessment to marginal from adequate, attributed to its below-average underwriting, catastrophe losses and book of business deterioration.

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Moody's affirmed the A3 insurance financial strength rating of Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings I Ltd.'s insurance operating subsidiaries, Allied World Assurance Co. Ltd., Allied World Assurance Co. (U.S.) Inc., Allied World Insurance Co. and Allied World National Assurance Co.

The rating reflects the companies' well-diversified mix of specialty insurance and reinsurance businesses, good historical earnings and their strategic importance to majority owner Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.

The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's view that the group's earnings and capital adequacy will continue to improve and that it will prudently manage its catastrophe exposure.

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S&P Global Ratings affirmed the A- insurer financial strength and long-term issuer credit ratings of Greater New York Mutual Insurance Co.

The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's expectation that the company will maintain capital adequacy at the AAA level and that its operating performance will remain in-line with similarly rated peers.

Europe

Fitch Ratings affirmed the A- insurer financial strength rating of Signal Iduna Reinsurance Ltd. The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect the benefits of the company's ownership by Signal Iduna Lebensversicherung AG, which is reflected in the company's "bbb" stand-alone credit profile. The rating agency views the company as "very important" to the Signal Iduna group under its group rating methodology.

The company's stand-alone credit profile reflects its very strong capitalization and its strong reserving and profitability, which are somewhat offset by its small business profile, according to Fitch.

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Fitch affirmed the A- insurer financial strength rating of China Taiping Insurance (UK) Co. Ltd. The outlook is stable.

The ratings reflect the benefits of the company's ownership by China Taiping Insurance Group Ltd., which is reflected in the company's "bbb" stand-alone credit profile. The rating agency views the company as "very important" to the China Taiping Insurance group under its group rating methodology.

The company's stand-alone credit profile reflects its moderately weak business profile, strong capitalization and moderate profitability.

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S&P Global Ratings affirmed the A long-term insurer financial strength and issuer credit ratings of Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Ltd.

The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's view that the company will sustain its competitive position by keeping underwriting focus on its core protection and indemnity business. The rating agency expects that the company's capital position will remain extremely strong over the next two years.

Middle East and Africa

S&P Global Ratings affirmed the BB+ global scale long-term issuer credit and financial strength ratings of Santam Ltd.

The rating agency also affirmed the BB ratings of Santam Structured Insurance Ltd., Santam Structured Reinsurance Ltd. PCC and Santam Structured Reinsurance DAC.

The rating agency also affirmed the zaAAA South Africa national scale rating of Santam and the zaAA+ South Africa national scale rating of Santam Structured Insurance.

The outlook remains stable, reflecting the rating agency's outlook on South Africa. The outlook also incorporates the rating agency's view that the company's capital and earnings will remain in line with current levels and the rating agency's expectation of the continued execution of its risk-mitigation plan.

Asia-Pacific

S&P Global Ratings revised the ratings of AMP Life Ltd. to A- from A, noting that it views the company's stand-alone credit characteristics as weaker than its previous assessment after lower-than-expected capitalization.

The rating agency also downgraded the ratings to BBB+ from A- of AMP Ltd. and its ratings on the company's operating subsidiaries by one notch each. The rating agency also removed the ratings from CreditWatch with negative implications.

The outlook is negative, reflecting the downward ratings pressure as AMP transitions to a less diversified and less capital-intensive group through the pending sale of its subsidiary AMP Life.

The downgrade reflects the rating agency's view of the company's weakened credit profile and its lower expected diversification through the pending sale of its subsidiary and its reliance of lower-rated operating subsidiaries.

This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.

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