Moody's Investors Service said continuing share buybacks by U.S. property-casualty insurers should not be a drag on their ratings, due to the industry's currently strong financial profile.

The report by the New York-based rating service also said that, given the credit environment, it expects share buyback activity to slow this year compared to record levels of the last two years.

Enrico Leo, a Moody's associate analyst, who wrote the report, said, "The combination of robust balance sheets and excellent earnings (bolstered by reserve releases and an absence of large catastrophe losses), especially in 2006-07, has led companies to re-evaluate their capital position in light of the limited growth opportunities that lay ahead in the softening pricing environment."

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