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 Eastern Atlantic Insurance Co. The outlooks were revised to stable from negative.
The rating agency also affirmed the A- financial strength rating and "a-" long-term issuer credit rating of the company's affiliate, Western Pacific Mutual Insurance Co. The outlook is stable.
The ratings of Eastern Atlantic reflect its balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The outlook revision is attributed to Eastern Atlantic's improved underwriting performance in the last two years, which resulted in surplus growth, according to A.M. Best.
The ratings of Western Pacific reflect its balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
_________________________________
A.M. Best affirmed the A+ financial strength rating and "aa-" long-term issuer credit ratings of Central States Indemnity Co. of Omaha and subsidiary CSI Life Insurance Co. The outlook is stable.
The ratings reflect the companies' balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strongest, as well as their adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The companies also benefit from very conservative underwriting leverage and implicit support from ultimate parent Berkshire Hathaway Inc., according to the rating agency.
_________________________________
A.M. Best affirmed the A financial strength rating and "a+" long-term issuer credit ratings of Lancashire Insurance Co. Ltd. and Lancashire Insurance Co. (UK) Ltd.
The rating agency also affirmed the "bbb+" long-term issuer credit rating of parent Lancashire Holdings Ltd. The outlook remains stable.
The ratings reflect the companies' balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strongest, as well as their strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
_________________________________
A.M. Best affirmed the A+ financial strength rating and "aa-" long-term issuer credit ratings of certain members of ProAssurance Corp.: ProAssurance Casualty Co., ProAssurance Indemnity Co. Inc., ProAssurance Specialty Insurance Co. Inc., Medmarc Casualty Insurance Co., Noetic Specialty Insurance Co., Podiatry Insurance Co. of America and ProAssurance American Mutual. The outlooks were revised to negative from stable.
The rating agency also upgraded the financial strength rating to A+ from A and the long-term issuer credit ratings to "aa-" from "a+" of Eastern Alliance Insurance Co. and affiliates Allied Eastern Indemnity Co. and Eastern Advantage Assurance Co. The outlooks were revised to negative from stable.
A.M. Best also affirmed the A- financial strength rating and "a-" long-term issuer credit rating of PACO Assurance Co. Inc. The outlook remains stable.
The ratings of the ProAssurance group reflect its balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The negative outlooks reflect the negative trend in the group's operating performance in recent years, which resulted in its solid underwriting and operating metrics dropping to a level more in-line with its peers in the medical professional liability industry instead of outperforming them, according to the rating agency. The upgrades reflect the companies' strategic importance as members of the ProAssurance group.
The ratings of PACO Assurance reflect its balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
_________________________________
Fitch Ratings affirmed the AA+ insurer financial strength ratings of Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Guardian Insurance & Annuity Co. Inc. and Berkshire Life Insurance Co. of America. The outlook is stable.
The ratings of Guardian Life reflect its favorable operating profile, exceptionally strong capitalization, high-quality investments and very strong operating results.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the AA+ financial strength and long-term issuer credit ratings of Berkshire Hathaway's operating insurance subsidiaries, including National Indemnity Co., Government Employees Insurance Co., General Reinsurance Corp. and other related insurance subsidiaries. The rating agency also upgraded the financial strength rating to AA+ from A- on Cape Town-based General Reinsurance Africa Ltd.
Additionally, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the AA long-term issuer credit rating of Berkshire Hathaway's intermediate insurance holding companies, including General Re Corp., GEICO Corp. and General Re Financial Products Corp.
The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's expectation that the companies will maintain very strong capitalization supported by their extremely strong competitive position and strong earnings generation capability during the next two to three years.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the A financial strength and issuer credit ratings of Farmers Insurance Exchange and its operating affiliates.
The outlook is stable, reflecting the company's improved capitalization through reinsurance protection, better underwriting results and surplus note reduction.
Europe
A.M. Best affirmed the A financial strength rating and "a+" long-term issuer credit ratings of Lloyd's of London Syndicates 2623, 623, 3623 and 3622.
The rating agency also affirmed the A financial strength rating and "a" long-term issuer credit ratings of Beazley Insurance Designated Activity Co., Beazley Insurance Co. Inc. and Beazley America Insurance Co. Inc. The outlook is stable.
The ratings of the Beazley Insurance Designated Activity, Beazley Insurance and Beazley America reflect the balance sheet strength of ultimate parent Beazley PLC, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The ratings of the syndicates reflect the financial strength of the Lloyd's market. The syndicates are managed by Beazley Furlonge Ltd. and its capital provided by Beazley.
_________________________________
A.M. Best affirmed the A financial strength rating and "a+" long-term issuer credit rating of Covéa Coopérations. The outlook is stable.
The ratings reflect the company's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
The ratings also reflect the company's strategic importance to France-based mutual insurance group SGAM Covéa.
Middle East and Africa
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the BBB+ long-term issuer credit and insurer financial strength ratings of Co. for Cooperative Insurance.
The outlook is negative, reflecting the rating agency's view that it could downgrade the company's rating by one or more notches if its operating performance or capital adequacy deteriorates further.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the BBB long-term insurer financial strength and issuer credit ratings of Wataniya Insurance Co.
The outlook remains positive, reflecting the rating agency's expectation that the company will continue to deliver profitable results, with modest growth in gross written premiums. The rating agency also expects that the company's management will continue to diversify its business mix and will avoid increasing its concentration in a particular line of business or counterparty in its investment portfolio.
Asia-Pacific
A.M. Best affirmed the A financial strength rating and "a" long-term issuer credit ratings of Taiping Reinsurance Co. Ltd. and wholly owned subsidiary Taiping Reinsurance (China) Co. Ltd. The outlook is stable.
The ratings of Taiping Reinsurance reflect its balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also acknowledge parent China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. Ltd.'s continued and holistic, implicit and explicit support in terms of capital, investment, risk oversight and shared operational resources, according to the rating agency.
The ratings of Taiping Reinsurance China reflect its strategic importance and high level of integration to Taiping Reinsurance. The ratings also reflect Taiping Reinsurance's explicit support for the subsidiary, according to A.M. Best.
_________________________________
Fitch affirmed the BBB+ insurer financial strength rating of Southsure Assurance Ltd. The outlook is stable.
The rating reflects the operation synergies from its parent Southland Building Society, and its less favorable business profile, strong capitalization and leverage and strong financial performance and earnings.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the BBB+ long-term insurer financial strength and issuer credit ratings of Teleco Insurance (NZ) Ltd. The rating agency also affirmed the A- long-term insurer financial strength and issuer credit ratings of Teleco Insurance Ltd.
The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's view that Teleco Insurance NZ will remain strategically important and Teleco Insurance will remain a core captive insurer to Spark New Zealand Ltd. The outlook on the companies reflects the outlook on the Spark group.
The affirmation is based on the level of extraordinary support from Spark group, according to S&P Global Ratings.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the A local currency long-term insurer financial strength and issuer credit ratings of BOC Group Life Assurance Co. Ltd.
The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's expectation that the company will remain a highly strategic subsidiary of a subgroup under BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd. over the next two years.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the A+ long-term insurer financial strength and issuer credit ratings of BankTaiwan Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's expectation that the company will remain a core member of Taiwan Cooperative Financial Holding Co. Ltd. over the next two years under the group's bancassurance strategy.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings placed under CreditWatch with negative implications the A- long-term issuer credit rating and financial strength ratings of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and Nan Shan General Insurance Co. Ltd.
The action reflects the rating agency's view that regulatory orders to suspend the company's sales of investment-linked products raise risks to the company's creditworthiness.
The ratings reflect the company's strong business position as one of the top three players in Taiwan's life sector, based on total premiums.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the A long-term issuer credit and financial strength ratings of Hanwha General Insurance Co. Ltd.
The outlook is stable, reflecting the rating agency's view that the company will remain a core subsidiary of Hanwha Insurance group over the next one to two years.
The outlook also reflects the rating agency's expectation that the group will sustain its well-established business presence in South Korea with modest capitalization backed by its stable investment allocation.
_________________________________
S&P Global Ratings affirmed the AA- long-term issuer credit and financial strength ratings of Hang Seng Insurance Co. Ltd.
The outlook is stable, reflecting the outlook on Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. and the rating agency's belief that the company will remain a core subsidiary to the group over the next two years.
The ratings reflect the rating agency's view that the company will remain integral to HSBC Asia-Pacific's wealth management strategy through the bancassurance business model. Hang Seng Insurance is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hang Seng Bank Ltd., a core subsidiary of HSBC Asia-Pacific.
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.
Links are current as of publication time; S&P Global Market Intelligence is not responsible if those links are unavailable later.
