The outlook for a Valley View, Pa.-based insurance company was recently downgraded from “stable” to “negative,” although, with the help of its parent company, its financial strength remains excellent, according to a key ratings service.

MetLife, because of its ownership of MetLife Bank, an online retail unit, was forced to submit to the Federal Reserve’s stress testing and failed, possibly because it was “unfairly penalized” by regulators.

The president of a Richmond, Va.-based insurance company said he was “disappointed” with the lowering of the ratings for Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia.

A global ratings agency predicts a stable outlook for the U.S. property-casualty insurance sector in 2012 after this year’s weak profitability.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and Standard & Poor’s seem to have differing views on insurers’ risk since the U.S. government debt downgrade last week.

Insurers’ investments should not be affected by the decision of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service to lower the U.S. government’s credit rating, according to state insurance commissioners.

Life and health insurance companies may be in a safer place, at least in terms of their ratings, than they have been in the last two years, according to A.M. Best Co.

A merger of two property-casualty insurance companies in New York has led to the revising of ratings for several companies by A.M. Best Co.

The personal lines segment and reinsurance lines’ ratings are stable for this year, while commercial lines turned from stable to negative, A.M. Best reported.

Although the rating outlook on the U.S. life/annuity sector changed to stable from negative in 2010, A.M. Best says challenges remain for this year.