Moody's rates Torchmark debt Baa1

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa1 rating to $250 million of senior debt maturing in 2019 to be issued by Torchmark Corp. (Baa1/negative).

Proceeds will be used to refinance $100 million of senior debt that matures in August 2009 and for general corporate purposes.

Ratings reflect Torchmark's strong earnings capacity, derived from its book of basic life and health insurance products, its very stable liability profile and resilient regulatory capital adequacy, the agency said.

These strengths are mitigated by the expectation of higher credit related investment losses, as well as tighter liquidity due to 2009 debt maturities and more restricted financial flexibility in the continuing stressful economic environment, Moody's noted.

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