A media release from Fitch Ratings casts a shadow over the insurance industry prospects overall for 2009. Fitch already had moved its rating outlook for most insurance regions and sectors globally to “negative.” In a recent release, Fitch said it expects downward rating activity to continue throughout 2009, with a heightened level of activity over the next several months. Ultimate ratings migration will be broad-based, potentially impacting over half of Fitch's rated universe of insurance ratings, but will also likely be shallow. In the vast majority of cases, Fitch expects downgrades will be limited to one or two notches.

Fitch expects the extent of downgrades to be greater among life insurers than non-life companies. This reflects life companies' higher investment leverage, exposures to products such as variable annuities, and higher yet generally manageable liquidity exposures. The ratings impact will also likely vary by region.

More information is available at www.fitchratings.com.