Very strong competitive position in excess and surplus and specialty admitted lines of business. Strong operating performance. Geographic diversification, with operations in the U.S. and Europe. Strong customer service and underwriting capabilities. Improved catastrophe risk management. Improved financial leverage. Markel's international operations are good but not as strong as the North American operations. Possible integration risk from potential acquisitions. Potential for adverse reserve development on legacy reserves. The counterparty credit rating on Markel Corp. (Markel) reflects a number of strengths, including its very strong competitive position, strong operating performance, geographic diversification, strong underwriting and customer-service capabilities, improved catastrophe risk management, and improved financial leverage. Partially offsetting these strengths are good but relatively weak performance in Markel's international operations (compared with
