Agency Boosts LTC Carrier Rating

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has raised its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company to B, from B minus.[@@]

Standard & Poor’s, New York, also has increased the counterparty credit rating on the insurance company’s parent, Penn Treaty American Corp., Allentown, Pa., to CCC, from CCC minus.

The outlook on the ratings is stable, the rating agency says.

Penn Treaty managers have reduced debt levels by renegotiating reinsurance treaties and converting debt into common stock, according to Neal Freedman, an S&P credit analyst.