S&P Affirms Southern Fire & Casualty Co `BBBpi' FSR

    NEW YORK--Standard & Poor's--April 6, 2001-- Standard & Poor's today affirmed its triple-'Bpi' financial strength rating on Southern Fire & Casualty Co.
    The company's insurance operations are 100% reinsured by its immediate parent, Southern Pilot Insurance Co. (triple-'Bpi' financial strength rating).
    Based in Montgomery, Ala. (domiciled in Tennessee), this company mainly writes commercial auto and commercial multi-peril coverages, distributed primarily through independent general agents. The company, which began business in 1953, is licensed in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is a member of the Credit Suisse group of companies (OTC:CSGKY), one of the world's largest financial services enterprises.
    The major rating factor is that as a wholly owned and reinsured subsidiary of Southern Pilot Insurance Co., Southern Fire & Casualty Co. (NAIC:22888) is assigned the same rating as that of its parent (triple-'Bpi').
    Ratings with a 'pi' subscript are insurer financial strength ratings based on an analysis of an insurer's published financial information and additional information in the public domain. They do not reflect in-depth meetings with an insurer's management and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a 'pi' subscript. Ratings with a 'pi' subscript are reviewed annually based on a new year's financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event that may affect the insurer's financial security occurs. Ratings with a 'pi' subscript are not subject to potential CreditWatch listings.
    Ratings with a 'pi' subscript generally are not modified with "plus" or "minus" designations. However, such designations may be assigned when the insurer's financial strength rating is constrained by sovereign risk or the credit quality of a parent company or affiliated group, Standard & Poor's said.--CreditWire.