TEXT-S&P article clarifies new insurance criteria

July 16 - As part of its continued effort to deliver increased transparency
and insight into the rating process, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today
published two articles to provide greater clarity around its proposed
methodology for rating insurance companies (see Request for Comment: Insurers:
Rating Methodology, published July 9, 2012, on RatingsDirect).

The first of the two articles, Credit FAQ: Understanding Standard & Poor's
Request for Comment for Rating Insurance Companies, offers additional
intelligence on the questions that may be front-of-mind for market
participants following the release of our proposed criteria. It also outlines
how the request-for-comment process works, including the mechanisms for
delivering feedback and estimated timing of next steps.

The second article, Standard & Poor's Assigns Indicative Insurance Industry
And Country Risk Assessments, establishes baseline provisional IICRA scores
for insurance markets in 37 countries. This will provide the market with
greater context for how the proposed IICRA will be employed and could affect
ratings as they review and digest our criteria proposal. Market participants
can use these scores to develop a deeper understanding of how the criteria
construct and framework operate by combining these scores with other factors
to estimate preliminary credit outcomes.

By publishing these articles, our aim is to inspire a robust dialogue during
the comment period while delivering more resources to increase the
understanding of the criteria proposal. Along with these reports, other
materials, including videos and tutorials related to the request for comment
can be found atWe encourage all market participants to submit written comments on the
proposed criteria by Sept. 9, 2012. Please send them to
CriteriaComments@standardandpoors.com. After the deadline, we will review the
comments and publish the criteria.

The report is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect on the Global Credit
Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com. If you are not a RatingsDirect
subscriber, you may purchase a copy of the report by calling (1) 212-438-7280
or sending an e-mail to research_request@standardandpoors.com. Ratings
information can also be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site by using
the Ratings search box located in the left column at www.standardandpoors.com.