Press release from Business Wire
A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Stable for American International Group, Inc. and Most of Its U.S. Insurance Subsidiaries
Friday, January 27, 2012
A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Stable for American International Group, Inc. and Most of Its U.S. Insurance Subsidiaries15:16 EST Friday, January 27, 2012
OLDWICK, N.J. (Business Wire) -- A.M. Best Co. has revised the outlook to stable from negative and
affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” of American
International Group, Inc. (AIG) (NYSE: AIG). Concurrently, A.M. Best
has revised the outlook to stable from negative and affirmed the
financial strength ratings (FSR) of A (Excellent) and ICRs of “a” of
Chartis US Insurance Group and its members as well as the Lexington
Insurance Pool (headquartered in Boston, MA)and its members.
(For further information on the Chartis US Insurance Group and the
Lexington Insurance Pool, please refer to the press release dated
January 27, 2012 titled, “A.M. Best Revises Outlook to Stable for Most
American International Group, Inc. North American Property/Casualty
Companies.”) All the above companies are headquartered in New York, NY,
unless otherwise specified.
A.M. Best also has revised the outlook to stable from negative and
affirmed the FSR of A (Excellent) and ICRs of “a” of the domestic
life/health subsidiaries of AIG, collectively referred to as SunAmerica
Financial Group (SAFG) (headquartered in Houston, TX). (For further
details on these rating actions, including factors that might cause
upward or downward changes in these ratings, please refer to the press
release dated January 27, 2012 titled, “A.M. Best Revises Outlook to
Stable for Ratings of American International Group, Inc.'s Domestic
Life/Health Subsidiaries.”)
In addition, A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has
assigned a FSR of A (Excellent) and ICRs of “a” to Chartis Europe
Limited (United Kingdom) and Chartis Europe S.A. (France).
The outlook assigned to these ratings is stable. (Details on these
rating assignments are provided in the press release dated January 27,
2012 titled, “A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Chartis Europe Limited and
Chartis Europe S.A.” issued by A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services
Limited.)
Additionally, A.M. Best has upgraded the FSR to A- (Excellent) from B++
(Good) and the ICR to “a-” from “bbb+” for The Fuji Fire & Marine
Insurance Company, Limited (Fuji) (Japan). These ratings have been
removed from under review with positive implications and assigned a
stable outlook. (Please refer to the press release dated January 27,
2012 titled, “A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of The Fuji Fire & Marine
Insurance Company, Limited” for further details.)
The revised outlook for AIG reflects A.M. Best's assessment that the
potential for negative effects on the operating insurance companies due
to issues at the holding company or in AIG's non-insurance operations
has diminished. The successful recapitalization of AIG, its issuance of
public debt and equity in 2010 and 2011, the execution of new credit
facilities to provide back-up liquidity and the reduction of risk
related to the non-insurance operations have contributed to this
assessment. While A.M. Best acknowledges that AIG's income will continue
to show variability from quarter to quarter, A.M. Best does not expect
at this time that the variances will substantially impact the company's
capital position or the claims paying ability of its insurance
subsidiaries.
A.M. Best does not expect positive movement on AIG's ratings in the near
to mid term. Potential drivers that would downgrade the ratings of AIG
and its insurance subsidiaries include a change in the ratings of a
major AIG insurance subsidiary; a significant reduction or withdrawal of
AIG's ability to access its lines of credit; recognition of a failure of
management to disclose information that is relevant to the rating
process; and deterioration in the financial position of AIG, whether
driven by its insurance or non-insurance operations.
The principal methodology used in determining these ratings is Best's
Credit Rating Methodology -- Global Life and Non-Life Insurance Edition,
which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best's rating process
and highlights the different rating criteria employed. Additional key
criteria utilized include: “A.M. Best's Ratings & the Treatment of
Debt”; “Assessing Country Risk”; Catastrophe Analysis in A.M. Best
Ratings”;“Rating Members of Insurance Groups”; “Rating Natural
Catastrophe Bonds”; “Risk Management and the Rating Process for
Insurance Companies”;“Understanding BCAR for Property/Casualty
Insurers”; “Understanding BCAR for Life/Health Insurers”; “Understanding
Universal BCAR”; “Equity Credit for Hybrid Securities”; and “The
Treatment of Terrorism Risk in the Rating Evaluation.” Methodologies can
be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.
Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most
authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more
information, visit www.ambest.com.
Copyright © 2012 by A.M. Best Company, Inc.ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED.A.M. Best Co.Jennifer Marshall, 908-439-2200, ext. 5327Managing
Senior Financial Analystjennifer.marshall@ambest.comorDaniel
Ryan, 908-439-2200, ext. 5325Vice Presidentdaniel.ryan@ambest.comorRachelle
Morrow, 908-439-2200, ext. 5378Senior Manager, Public
Relationsrachelle.morrow@ambest.comorJim
Peavy, 908-439-2200, ext. 5644Assistant Vice President,
Public Relationsjames.peavy@ambest.com
