London -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 9/15/98 -- Standard&Poor's today affirmed its ratings on Zurich Insurance Co. and certain related entities. These ratings are also removed from CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications in October 1997 (see list below). The affirmation follows the merger of B.A.T Industries PLC's former financial services businesses (U.S.-based Farmers Group Inc.., U.K.-based Allied Dunbar Assurance PLC, and U.K.-based Eagle Star Insurance Ltd.) with Zurich Insurance Co. (the parent company of the Zurich Insurance Group), which has just been completed to form Zurich Financial Services (ZFS). ZFS now is one of the world's largest diversified insurance, reinsurance, and asset management groups. The merger was first announced in October 1997, and caused Standard
