Although pricing in the U.S. commercial lines property/casualty insurance sector has remained soft, Markel Corp.'s operating performance has been relatively strong. In addition, although losses related to credit insurance, losses from higher-than-expected natural catastrophes, and high IT expenses have hurt Markel's underwriting performance, we believe the company's underwriting margin will remain stable relative to that of similarly rated peers. As a result, we have revised our outlook on the company to stable from negative. We have also affirmed our 'BBB' unsolicited counterparty credit rating on Markel. On Aug. 18, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Markel Corp. (NYSE:MKL) to stable from negative. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BBB' unsolicited counterparty credit rating
