Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) continues to enjoy strong ratings from independent rating agencies, which constantly monitor the financial strength of insurance companies and the quality of the debt instruments they issue.
Both S&P and Fitch have recently affirmed Western & Southern’s ratings:
S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Western & Southern’s financial strength and long-term issuer credit ratings. This action means the company’s S&P rating remains AA- with a stable outlook.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings of Western & Southern and its operating subsidiaries, including the ‘AA’ Insurer Financial Strength ratings assigned to the insurance operating subsidiaries as well as the ‘AA-‘ Long-Term Issuer Default and ‘A+’ senior debt ratings assigned to Western & Southern. The Rating Outlook is stable.
The ratings cover six of Western & Southern’s life insurance subsidiaries: The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Columbus Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company, Integrity Life Insurance Company and National Integrity Life Insurance Company. Both rating agencies also referred to the company’s recent acquisition of Gerber Life Insurance Company as beneficial.
In its rating report, S&P stated that Western & Southern’s strong competitive position “… is rooted in its stable GAAP operating earnings and diversified life and annuity offerings among varied distribution channels.” Fitch’s report noted the “assessment of the company’s extremely strong balance sheet fundamentals, consistent and stable financial performance, and strong enterprise risk management capabilities, all of which remain consistent with our rating expectations.”
About Western & Southern Financial Group
Founded in Cincinnati in 1888 as The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. (Western & Southern), a Fortune 500 company, is now the parent company of a group of diversified financial services businesses. Its assets owned ($55 billion) and managed ($26 billion) totaled $81 billion as of June 30, 2019. Western & Southern is one of the strongest life insurance groups in the world. Its seven life insurance subsidiaries (The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Columbus Life Insurance Company, Gerber Life Insurance Company, Integrity Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company, and National Integrity Life Insurance Company) maintain very strong financial ratings. Other member companies include Eagle Realty Group, LLC; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.;1 IFS Financial Services, Inc.; Touchstone Advisors, Inc.;1 Touchstone Securities, Inc.;2 W&S Brokerage Services, Inc.;2 and W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc. Western & Southern is the title sponsor of six major community events every year, including the Western & Southern Open, a premier event in the U.S. Open Series played each August by the world’s top-ranked professional male and female tennis players.
1 A registered investment advisor.
2 A registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.
Review our current financial ratings.
