A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of Allianz Societas Europaea and Its Subsidiaries.

OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings of "aa-"of Allianz Societas Europaea (Allianz SE) (Germany) (formerly Allianz AG) and its subsidiaries. Concurrently, A.M. Best has affirmed the debt ratings of "aa-" on senior debt and assigned an "a" rating to the subordinated debt, which are guaranteed by Allianz SE. The outlook on all ratings remains stable. (See link below for a complete listing of the ratings.)

The rating of Allianz SE reflects its improved operating performance, improving risk-adjusted capitalisation and very strong business position, particularly in Germany and other European countries.

Business position--Allianz enjoys very strong business positions, mainly in Continental Europe, and especially in Germany, Italy and France. A continuing strong demand for life insurance in Germany and Eastern Europe is partly offsetting the decline in variable annuities in the United States and unit-linked products in Italy. In property/casualty, premiums remain stable due to increasing competition, especially in motor and industrial lines of business. Dresdner Bank (Allianz SE's main banking subsidiary) is experiencing strong growth in 2006, while asset management continues the strong trend observed over 2005.

Operating performance--A.M. Best expects a further significant improvement in earnings in 2006 as a result of the company's focus on sustainable profitability and anticipates that all four business segments (property/casualty, life/health, banking and asset management) will positively contribute to this. A.M. Best expects profits for the full year 2006 in the range of EUR 9.8 billion (USD 12.9 billion), a more than 30% increase over 2005, mainly driven by the turnaround in Dresdner Bank, the lack of major natural catastrophes and the improved equity market conditions.

Life/health is the segment mainly impacted by the equity market conditions. Increased dividend payments more than offset the revenue decline in some key markets (United States and Italy) and the increasing acquisition expenses. In property/casualty, operating profit grew by 28.6% due to reduced catastrophes, which resulted in a decline in combined ratio from 94.9% to 92.2% for the first nine months in 2006. A.M. Best believes that this trend is likely to continue for the full year 2006, while the competitive market pressures in the industrial risks market and the German and French motor business are likely to impact results in 2007. Dresdner Bank's operating profit increased significantly by 81.4% to EUR 1.16 billion (USD 1.52 billion), thus achieving the whole year target by the end of the third quarter 2006. Strong organic growth combined with relative expense stability resulted in an 8.8 percentage point increase in the cost income ratio to 78.8%. Finally, operating profits from asset management operations increased by a strong 14.8% (internal growth) to EUR 887 million (USD 1.16 billion) by September 2006 as the strong business development was partly counterbalanced by increasing performance-linked personnel expenses.

Risk-adjusted capitalisation--Allianz SE's risk-adjusted capitalisation has further strengthened following the strong financial performance during 2006; increased unrealised capital gains, which comes after the increase in capital; and the issuance of subordinated debt in 2005. A.M. Best expects a further improvement from retained earnings, compensating for higher capital requirements from the planned growth in the life/health segment.

For a complete list of Allianz Societas Europaea's FSRs, ICRs and debt ratings, please visit www.ambest.com/press/122205allianzse.pdf.

A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at www.ambest.com.