On Feb. 5, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A-' senior debt rating to ACE INA Holdings Inc.'s $500 million senior debt issuance, which is due 2017 and is fully and unconditionally guaranteed by ACE Ltd. (NYSE:ACE; A-/Stable/A-2). The net proceeds of this sale will be used to repay $500 million of notes due April 2007, and therefore long-term zero incremental debt is expected. In the interim, debt leverage will increase from 13% at year-end 2006 to 15% on a pro forma basis. Interest coverage is expected to remain strong and supportive of nonstandard holding company notching, measuring 8x in 2005 and 18x in 2006. The ratings reflect ACE Ltd.'s operating companies strong collective competitive position as a
