NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 3, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its 'BBB' counterparty credit rating on Markel Corp. (NYSE:MKL; BBB/Stable/--) is not affected by today's announcement of fourth quarter 2008 earnings. The company reported a $59 million net loss for the year as results were hampered by weaker underwriting performance due to price deteoriation and a $95 million loss from hurricanes Gustav and Ike generating a combined ratio of 99.3%. Furthermore, profitability was further hampered by $408 million in realized investment losses that include $339 million of other than temporary impairments given the company's equity concentration in the insurance and financial institution industries. Besides realized investment losses, MKL incurred $330 million in unrealized losses net
