rating by Standard & Poor's.

S&P said the rating was assigned on the basis of Bermuda-based GCR's excellent earnings and liquidity, which has included an average return on equity of 24 percent.

"Although returns generated by Bermuda `cat' writers during this period have been excellent, GCR's results compare favourably with average returns realised by this group''.

S&P also noted that GCR, formed primarily as a catastrophe insurance provider, is expanding into ocean marine insurance and financial reinsurance.

SECURITY FIRM SOLD BUC Security firm sold TOPEKA, Kansas (Dow Jones News) -- Western Resources Inc., a utility holding company, said yesterday it has agreed to acquire Westinghouse Electric Corp.'s Security Systems unit for about $368 million in cash.

The burglar-alarm business, based in Irving, Texas, is part of Westinghouse's Communications and Information Systems unit, a group of disparate businesses formed after the Pittsburgh industrial giant sold off the bulk of its defence-electronics operations last year.

The acquisition continues a growing trend of utilities, faced with the prospect of greater competition, taking steps to expand their offerings.

Western Resources, of Topeka, Kansas, already holds a 27 percent stake in Bermuda-registered ADT Ltd., one of the largest home-security businesses in the United States.