Alea has announced that Standard and Poor's has downgraded its ratings to BBB+ from A-. The outlook on the rating is negative.
The company said that as a result of the downgrade it will review, with its advisers and AM Best, its previously announced plans to raise additional capital.
The board is currently exploring strategic alternatives including the sale of the group. The group stated that there could be no assurance that any transaction would be concluded.
Separately, Alea said that its preliminary estimate of pre-tax net losses from Hurricane Katrina was in the region of $20m to $30m.