FRANKFURT (Standard&Poor's) July 23, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned intermediate equity content to the 'A' rated €425 million dated subordinated fixed-to-floating eurodenominated notes (the Subordinated Notes) issued by Switzerland-based insurer Zurich Insurance Company Ltd. (ZIC; AA-/Negative/A-1+) under its $10 billion Euro Medium-Term Note program. On July 22, 2009, we assigned our 'A' long-term debt rating to the Subordinated Notes (see "Zurich Insurance Company Ltd.'s Dated Subordinated Notes Rated 'A'," published on RatingsDirect). The intermediate equity classification is subject to our examination of the final documentation and reflects the notes' subordinated nature and their optional interest suspension. In our view, the characteristics of the Subordinated Notes qualify them to be regarded as part of ZIC's
