wasn't enough, Overseas Partners Limited came to another stumbling block yesterday as A.M. Best, the insurance ratings agency, downgraded its rating from A (Superior) to A (Excellent).

The new rating is a result of the company's struggle to reposition itself in the global reinsurance market following the loss of the UPS shipper's risk business, which represented close to 40 percent of the group's premium revenue in 1999, according to A.M. Best. The success of that business, a release said, overshadowed the poor performance of the group's other programmes.

OPL reported first half losses of $477.2 million last week and announced a reserve charge of $460 million to cover for losses that occurred between 1997 and 1999.

The ratings agency said the rating was stable and it expected new business opportunities and the acquisition of underwriting expertise to largely replace discontinued programmes.

"However, OPL will be faced with many challenges as it executes its strategic initiatives during a time of continuing worldwide over-capacity and soft pricing in the property and casualty reinsurance industry,'' the release said.

"Despite this action, the group maintains an `Excellent' rating reflective of its balance sheet strength (with more than $1 billion of dedicated capacity), bolstered loss reserve position, and strengthened management team.'' A.M. Best also said the recent reserve action placed overall reserves at a very conservative level and OPL had taken out additional reinsurance protection to limit exposure on certain books of business. The company's new management team, according to the ratings agency, has shifted the business focus to speciality lines that it believes are less susceptible to competitive pressures and suited to OPL's existing strengths.