Credit ratings for QBE, IAG and Suncorp and more than 2000 other insurers, reinsurers and subsidiaries are under review by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) after the agency released new criteria for the sector.

Allianz, Zurich, Munich Re and Swiss Re are also under review, but S&P Deputy Chair for Insurance Rodney Clark says the “significant majority” of ratings will be unchanged.

Of those that do change, most will move just one place, with upgrades likely to “slightly outpace” downgrades.

The first ratings reviews – of the largest global insurers and reinsurers – are due later this month, with the remainder to be announced by the end of July.

The new criteria aim to “enhance the transparency of our ratings on insurers worldwide by creating an integrated, globally consistent framework”, S&P says. 

This framework includes business risk and financial risk profiles, plus new rating factors and sub-factors to assess industry and country risks, prospective capital adequacy and risk position.

The criteria, released last week, have not changed significantly from those S&P proposed before its industry consultation late last year, according to Mr Clark. They are now less formulaic and more judgement-based, he says.

S&P has also established an insurance industry and country risk assessment, with 97 industry sectors, 52 countries and four global areas classified as very low, low, intermediate, moderate, high or very high risk.

Australia’s property and casualty sector and health segment are rated low risk, while its life sector is very low risk.