earnings News

Ratings Recap: Nationwide, Southern Pioneer, Navigators, Allied World Re, Excess Re

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ‘AA-‘ insurer financial strength (IFS) ratings on Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company (NMIC) and its related intercompany pool members (collectively, Nationwide Mutual), as well as Nationwide Life Insurance Company and Nationwide Life Insurance Company of America, …

Ratings Roundup: Int’l. General, Arab Credit, Tower, Asian Re

A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Bermuda’s International General Insurance Company Limited (IGI). Best has also assigned an issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb-” to Dubai-based …

Best Affirms China International Re ‘A-‘ Ratings

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a-” of the Hong Kong-based China International Reinsurance Company Limited (CIRe) with a stable outlook. “The rating reflects CIRe’s profitable operating performance, …

Ratings Recap: Financial Guaranty, American Physicians, United National, Centene, Great Western

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has revised its CreditWatch on Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. (FGIC, rated ‘A’) and holding company FGIC Corp. (rated ‘BBB’) to CreditWatch with negative implications from CreditWatch with developing implications. S&P explained that FGIC’s principal owner, …

AAA Study Pegs Cost of U.S. Traffic Crashes at $1,051 Per Person

Traffic crashes cost American motorists more than $160 billion a year while inflicting a staggering per-person toll on small cities such as Little Rock, Ark., Columbia, S.C., and Pensacola, Fla., according to an American Automobile Association (AAA) research report. The …

Climate Change No. 1 in Top 10 Risks Facing the Insurance Industry

Potential climate change is the greatest strategic risk currently facing the property/casualty insurance industry, with demographic changes taking priority for the life insurance industry, according to a new study by Ernst & Young. Climate change is closely followed by demographic …

S&P: U.S. Workers’ Comp Insurers Face Weakening Rates

The U.S. workers’ compensation insurance business is not for the faint of heart, according to an article published by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. The article, titled “Weakening Rates Could Squeeze U.S. Workers’ Comp Insurers Later This Year,” says the …

Ping An Buys Half of Fortis Asset Arm

China’s Ping An Insurance Co Ltd. deepened its ties with Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis on Wednesday by buying half its asset management business for €2.15 billion ($3.4 billion). Ping An, China’s second largest life insurer, also lifted its stake in …

SCOR Net Income up 62% to $633 Million

French reinsurer SCOR Group posted a significant gain in net income for 2007 – up 62 percent to €407 million, ($632.8 million), a ROE of 14.1 percent and a strong 2007 EPS reaching € 2.79 ($4.337), supported by a net …

S&P Says Allianz SE Ratings ‘Not Affected’ by Dresdner Separation

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said that its ratings and outlook on Germany’s Allianz SE (AZSE) [currently ‘AA’/Stable/’A-1+’] and related entities “are not affected by the group’s plans to separate the wholesale and retail-banking businesses of its Germany-based banking subsidiary …