Insurers Weathering Capital Losses

Monday, October 14th, 2002 Property

Insurers and reinsurers‘ credit strength in the global market over the past three years has proved largely resilient despite a net reduction in capital of about $170 billion, Standard & Poor‘s in London said today. "The drain on capital in the market, due to underwriting losses, significant claims activity arising from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the poorly performing investment markets has now reached the $200 billion mark," said an S&P credit analyst, Rob Jones. "Set against new capital of approximately $30 billion raised over the past year, there remains a significant shortfall compared with the capital levels of previous years," Mr. Jones observed.

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