Fitch Ratings on May 9 upgraded the long-term issuer default ratings of Unipol Gruppo SpA and UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA to BBB (Good) from BBB-, with a stable outlook.

The rating agency also upgraded Unipol Gruppo's senior unsecured debt rating to BBB- from BB+ and affirmed UnipolSai's insurer financial strength rating at BBB, with stable outlook.

The agency said it applied a BBB sovereign constraint, capping the insurer financial strength rating at BBB. The upgrade of the issuer default ratings follows the same action on its unconstrained insurer financial strength rating to BBB+ from BBB.

The upgrade on the unconstrained insurer financial strength rating reflects the group's strong and resilient capitalization and strong underlying insurance financial performance, Fitch said. It added that the firms' profitability is good and will remain at least commensurate with its ratings.

Fitch added that the ratings could be affected by any action on Italy's sovereign ratings.