Winterthur Insurance Company's financial strength ratings were upgraded by Moody's to "Aa3" from "A1" following the company's acquisition by the AXA Group.
The outlook for the rating is stable, Moody's analysts said on Friday. The rating had previously been placed on review for possible upgrade in June 2006 following announcement of the proposed transaction.
"The new rating level not only reflects the stand-alone fundamentals of Winterthur, but also the benefits of being part of a larger group whose primary focus is insurance," said Steve Hunnisett, a vice president/senior analyst in Moody's European insurance team.
"Consequently, the rating incorporates a degree of uplift reflecting the credit quality of the wider AXA Group," he said.
The rating agency added that the stable outlook reflects the expectation that the integration of Winterthur into the AXA Group will be successfully executed.
"In particular, it is anticipated that both the market position (especially Swiss insurance market share) and financial performance (as measured by return on equity) of Winterthur will not deteriorate during 2007," Moody's said.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
