Moody's reviews Liberty Mutual Group's long-term debt for upgrade
Insurance financial strength ratings are affirmed with a stable outlook
New York, February 26, 2007 -- Moody's Investors Service has placed under review for possible upgrade
the debt ratings of Liberty Mutual Group Inc. (LMGI), including
its Baa3 rating for senior unsecured debt, and its Baa1 rating for
senior notes that were originally issued by Liberty Mutual Capital Corporation
and that are guaranteed by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (LMIC),
as well as LMIC's Baa2 rating for surplus notes and its Baa1 issuer
rating. Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the A2 financial
strength ratings of LMIC and members of its intercompany reinsurance pool.
LMGI's Prime-2 rating for supported commercial paper (program
is guaranteed by LMIC) and Moody's performance rating on Lloyd's Syndicate
4472, both of which carry stable outlooks, are not affected.
According to Moody's, the review for possible upgrade of LMGI's
long-term debt and of LMIC's surplus notes is prompted primarily
by the stability, strength, and generally steady growth trend
of free cash flows generated by Liberty Corporate Services (LCS) that
are available to LMGI without restriction and that provide significant
coverage of the holding company's debt service costs independent
of the more tightly regulated dividend flows from LMIC. LCS comprises
a group of services companies that provide policy-related administrative
services for affiliated and non-affiliated insurers. Further
contributing to LCS' cash generation is the recent transfer effective
January 1, 2007, of additional service organizations which
diversify LCS's revenue base and increases pre-tax earnings
by approximately $100 million. LCS generated pre-tax
earnings of approximately $200 million in 2006.
In addition to the growth and strength of the combined LCS cash flows,
Moody's noted Liberty Mutual's shifting funding structure
as a rationale for the rating review of both LMIC's surplus notes
and LMGI's long-term debt. Whereas in 2001,
approximately two-thirds of the combined organization's debt
structure was comprised of surplus notes, with most of the remainder
being debt guaranteed by LMIC, today more than two-thirds
of the capital structure will be in the form of unsecured debt of the
intermediate holding company, LMGI. Consequently, Moody's
believes that over time and with the growth of the overall Liberty Mutual
organization, debt service requirements from surplus notes at the
insurance company will become progressively less significant relative
to the group's total funding structure, leading to sustained
and continuing improvement in surplus note interest coverage, and
progressively easing constraints on dividend capacity from LMIC to the
debt-issuing parent company, LMGI.
Moody's stated that it expects to complete its rating review in
the coming few weeks, and that the process will focus on 3 key issues:
1) the structure of the LCS management agreements, including their
terms and conditions and their regulatory validation, 2) expected
free cash flows -- net of capital expenses -- from the combined
LCS subsidiaries over the coming 3-5 years, in relation to
future debt service requirements, and 3) Liberty Mutual's
capital plans and expected funding structure for the same time horizon.
In affirming the A2 insurance financial strength ratings of Liberty Mutual
Insurance Company and its pooled affiliates, Moody's noted
Liberty Mutual's sustained strong market position in both commercial
and personal lines insurance in the USA and its diversified international
operations, the breadth of its product and distribution platform,
its strong asset quality and overall good financial flexibility,
and its substantially improved profitability and internal capital generation
as key considerations. LMIC previously sustained significant losses
in prior years related to natural and man-made catastrophes,
and deteriorating underwriting results related to under-priced
business written in the late 1990s and to asbestos, pollution and
other mass tort liabilities. Although Moody's noted that
LMIC's reserve strength remains an incremental concern, given
continued adverse loss development recorded in 2005 and 2006 on business
written in 2003 and prior, Moody's considers the magnitude
of this development to be manageable relative to the group's current
core earnings strength. Moody's further noted that Liberty
Mutual's operational leverage and risk-adjusted capitalization
measures have continued to improve significantly in 2005 and in 2006 over
prior years levels, when capital adequacy, reserve adequacy
and financial flexibility were significant rating concerns. Interim
improvement in these measures led Moody's to confirm Liberty Mutual's
ratings with a negative outlook in February 2005, following a review
for possible downgrade, and to revise the outlook on the group's
ratings to stable, from negative, in May 2006.
The following ratings were placed on review for possible upgrade:
Liberty Mutual Group, Inc. -- senior unsecured debt
at Baa3; senior debt that was originally issued by Liberty Mutual
Capital Corporation (subsequently merged into LMGI) -- guaranteed
senior unsecured debt at Baa1 (based on a guarantee from Liberty Mutual
Insurance Company);
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company -- surplus notes at Baa2,
issuer rating at Baa1.
The following ratings were affirmed with a stable outlook:
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and its rated affiliated intercompany
pool members -- insurance financial strength at A2,
including:
- Employers Insurance of Wausau
- First Liberty Insurance Corporation
- Liberty Insurance Corporation
- Liberty Insurance Underwriters, Inc.
- Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company
- Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
- Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation
- LM Insurance Corporation
- Wausau Business Insurance Company
- Wausau General Insurance Company
- Wausau Underwriters Insurance Company.
Moody's most recent rating action on Liberty Mutual was on May 2,
2006, when the rating agency changed the outlook on the company's
long-term ratings (both debt and insurance financial strength)
to stable from negative.
Liberty Mutual Group Inc. (LMGI), based in Boston,
is a mutual holding company that provides personal and commercial insurance
products both domestically and internationally. On a GAAP basis,
for the full year 2006, the group reported net income of $1.6
billion and earned premiums of $19.9 billion. As
of December 31, 2006, LMGI reported consolidated GAAP policyholders'
equity of $10.9 billion and total assets of $85.5
billion.
Moody's insurance financial strength ratings are opinions of the ability
of insurance companies to repay senior policyholder claims and obligations.
For more information, visit our website at www.moodys.com/insurance.
New York
Alan Murray
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653
New York
Robert Riegel
Managing Director
Financial Institutions Group
Moody's Investors Service
JOURNALISTS: 212-553-0376
SUBSCRIBERS: 212-553-1653