On May 13, 2003, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'A-' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Markel Corp.'s U.S. insurance subsidiaries (see ratings list) and its 'BBB-' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Markel International Insurance Co. Ltd. and then withdrew the ratings at the company's request. Standard & Poor's will maintain surveillance on the counterparty credit, senior unsecured debt, and preferred stock ratings on Markel Corp. Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Fixed Income in the left navigation bar, select Credit Ratings Actions.
