FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 16, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on the various core operating entities of Switzerland-based insurance group Zurich Financial Services (collectively ZFS; A+/Positive/--), including Zurich Insurance Co. and the members of the Zurich U.S. Intercompany Pool (ZUS), and on the intermediate holding company Zurich Group Holding (A-/Positive/--) were unaffected by yesterday's announcement of a Swiss franc 1.25 billion share buyback and of 2006 annual results. The buyback does not affect Standard&Poor's view of ZFS' strong capitalization in light of excellent 2006 earnings, which are well in line with our expectations. A ratings upgrade would be driven by continuing positive trends in earnings throughout the cycle, specifically in
