NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 9, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'BBB+' senior debt rating to ACE INA Holdings Inc.'s $300 million senior debt issuance, which is due 2036 and is fully and unconditionally guaranteed by ACE Ltd. (NYSE:ACE; BBB+/Stable/A-2). "The ratings on ACE reflect its operating insurance companies' strong collective competitive position as a global and diversified property/casualty group as well as their strong financial flexibility and operating performance," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Damien Magarelli. ACE's capitalization is viewed as strong following the incorporation of $1.5 billion in additional capital (100% common equity). Offsetting these positive factors are ACE's pricing strategy, though ACE is not aggressively pricing business in all
