Insurer Kingsway Financial stops ratings service
* Withdraws its S&P and DBRS ratings
* Says board took decision as part of cost cutting
TORONTO, June 5 (Reuters) - Kingsway Financial Services (KFS.TO) said on Friday it was withdrawing from ratings services Standard and Poor's and DBRS in the insurer's latest cost-cutting measure in the face of mounting losses.
The Canadian property and casualty insurer, which sells high-risk auto and truck policies, saw first quarter losses double year-ago levels amid plunging trucking premiums and a drop in investment returns.
The company has been struggling to right itself for months, divesting non-core businesses and shuffling management as it fights its way through the global financial crisis.
"Kingsway Financial Services announces today that its board has unanimously authorized management to withdraw ratings provided by Standard and Poor's and by DBRS in connection with its outstanding debt and securities, including its outstanding debt and units of the Kingsway Limited Return of Capital Trust," the company said in a statement.
"The board has taken this decision as part of its ongoing cost-cutting strategy."
The company has been shuffling management since the start of the year, ousting its chief executive and losing its chief financial officer to resignation.
Results at Mississauga, Ontario-based Kingsway have been hampered for several quarters by underwriting losses at U.S.-based subsidiary Lincoln General Insurance Co, and it has previously announced plans to put all but the strongest of Lincoln's programs into run-off to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. (Reporting by Pav Jordan; editing by Rob Wilson)
