NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 4, 2002--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its single-'A'-plus counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Noridian Mutual Insurance Co., which does business as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND), based on the company's continued dominance of the North Dakota health insurance market, very strong capitalization, and conservative investment portfolio. Standard&Poor's also said that the outlook is stable. "These positive factors are offset by the plan's erratic underwriting results and restrictive regulatory environment," noted Standard&Poor's credit analyst Tom Taillon. Standard&Poor's expects a pretax gain of about $12 million for full-year 2002. BCBSND's capital adequacy ratio, based on Standard&Poor's model,
