Fitch Affirms Primerica Life Insurance Company's IFS at 'A+'; Outlook Evolving.CHICAGO -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has affirmed the Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating of Primerica Life Insurance Company (Primerica Life) at 'A+'. The Rating Outlook is Evolving. Primerica Life's rating is linked to the ratings of Citigroup in accordance with Fitch's group rating methodology. However, the Evolving Outlook associated with Primerica Life's IFS rating reflects Fitch's view that the company is no longer core to the operations of Citigroup Inc., and its rating could be raised or lowered in the event of divestiture The breakup of AT&T. By federal court order, AT&T divested itself on January 1, 1984 of its 23 operating companies, which became known as the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). . Today's rating action assumes that capitalization will remain strong at Primerica Life and any material dividend or other capital transfer out of the operating company operating company A business that engages in transactions with outsiders. could result in a downgrade Downgrade A negative change in the rating of a security. Notes: For example, an analyst may downgrade a stock from strong buy to buy, or a bond rating agency may downgrade a bond from AAA to AA. of the rating. The rating affirmation follows Fitch's review of Primerica Life's near-term operating performance, investment exposure and capitalization in the context of recent economic weakness and capital market turmoil. Despite very weak economic conditions, the company's operating performance has remained relatively stable, reflecting a conservative product profile, strong franchise and solid distribution. Also, with the exception of a material unrealized loss Unrealized Loss A loss that results from holding onto an asset rather than cashing it in and officially taking the loss. Notes: Let's say you own a stock that is down 50%, but you haven't sold it to realize the loss yet. This is said to be an unrealized loss. in the first quarter of 2009 on $391 million in Citigroup preferred stock Stock shares that have preferential rights to dividends or to amounts distributable on liquidation, or to both, ahead of common shareholders. Preferred stock is given preference over common stock. Holders of preferred stock receive dividends at a fixed annual rate. holdings that were converted into common equity, the company's conservative investment profile has helped to dampen the effects of recent capital market turmoil, and has supported the company's statutory capitalization. In terms of premiums, Primerica Life is one of the nation's largest term life insurance writers, with over $1.1 billion in statutory premiums written in 2008. At March 31, 2009, the company reported total statutory assets of $5.8 billion and capital and surplus of $1.2 billion. Fitch affirms the following rating with an Evolving Outlook: Primerica Life Insurance Company --IFS at 'A+'. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. The issuer did not participate in the rating process other than through the medium of its public disclosure. |
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