S&P ups Hartford to stable

Standard & Poor's said that it revised the outlook on Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and its insurance operating subsidiaries to stable from negative and affirmed Hartford's BBB counterparty credit rating and the operating subsidiaries' A counterparty credit and financial strength ratings.

The revision of the outlook to stable reflects the opinion that impairments and realized losses on Hartford's investments will remain moderate going forward, the agency said.

The group's operating performance and capitalization will remain strong, reflecting its continued strong property/casualty underwriting performance and a benign economy, the agency added.

The ratings reflect Hartford's strong competitive position across its three main segments: consumer markets, commercial markets and wealth management, S&P said. The ratings consider the group's overall scale and low cost structure, diverse distribution channels, strong consolidated capital and underwriting results that have remained stable through the challenging economy.

The ratings are constrained by capitalization that remains exposed to commercial real estate and capital and earnings volatility associated with equity market exposure in its global variable annuity businesses, the agency added.

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