INSURANCE

Rating Lowered on Allstate’s Claims-Paying Ability: Standard & Poor’s Corp. lowered its ratings on the claims-paying ability of Allstate Insurance Co., a unit of Sears, Roebuck & Co., and its property and casualty subsidiaries to AA- from AA+ because of the effects of Hurricane Andrew. S&P; also downgraded rankings for Allstate Life Insurance Co. and its subsidiaries to AA+ from AAA. The moves lowered Allstate and its property and casualty units to the fourth-highest rating from the second-highest, and the life insurance companies to the second-highest ranking from the highest. “These ratings are still very, very strong,” said analyst Daniel Murray of Argus Research.