Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has affirmed its long-term AA-plus counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Jupiter Insurance, the Channel Islands-based company. The outlook is stable.
S&P said Jupiter's ratings depended heavily on those of its ultimate parent, U.K.-based BP, which also carry AA-plus status.
It added that stand-alone rating factors were Jupiter's "extremely strong capitalization and strong operating performance".
Those positive factors were partially offset by Jupiter's business position, which was "severely restricted", and its operating performance, which, "although strong, is nevertheless subject to extreme volatility".
Jupiter is the main captive insurer of the BP group, which is one of the world's largest diversified energy, oil, and petrochemicals groups.
Since the early 1990s, the BP group has followed a policy of purchasing insurance only when legally or contractually obliged to do so.
