Life Insurance Company Rating Categories

When you choose a life insurance company the first consideration should be the life insurance company rating – the financial strength of that company, even before competitiveness and pricing. Obviously, if the company is unable to pay the benefits promised in the life insurance policy, then every other consideration was unimportant. So, choose your company by price, benefits and design but always do a life insurance comparison of the company’s financial strength before you buy.

You can do this by checking the financial strength rating online. Life insurance companies are ranked by independent services according to the financial strength of the company. This is done by a rating system. These life insurance company ratings are determined by independent analysts that are paid to review a company’s financial strength. In this section we’ve provided a chart of the different financial ratings from the leading life insurance company rating services.

Your LifeInsure.com representative will be glad to review the financial ratings of any life insurance company with you.

The chart below shows the different rating categories from the leading rating services. These include A.M. Best and Company, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investor Service and Fitch. There is another rating service not shown on the chart, Street.com which rates companies similar to school grades from A+ to A to A- to B+, B, B- etc.

When you get a term life quote or a return of premium life quote on LifeInsure.com’s quote engines, the A.M. Best rating shows up next to the insurance company quoted.

Life Insurance Company Rating Categories

 
Rank Number A.M. Best Standard & Poor’s Moody’s Fitch
  Financial Strength Financial Strength Financial Strength Financial Strength
1

A++
Secure / Superior

AAA
Extremely Strong

 

Aaa
Exceptional
AAA
Secure / Highest
2

A+
Secure / Superior

AA+
Very Strong
Aa1, Aa2, Aa3
Excellent

AA+
Secure / Very High

 

3

A
Secure / Excellent

AA
Very Strong
A1, A2, A3
Good

AA
Secure / Very High

 

4

A-
Secure / Excellent

AA-
Very Strong
Baa1, Baa2, Baa3
Adequate

AA-
Secure / Very High

 

5

B++
Secure / Very Good

 

A+
Strong
Ba1, Ba2, Ba3
Questionable
A+
Secure / High
6

B+
Secure / Good

A
Strong
B1, B2, B3
Poor

A
Secure / High

 

7

B
Vulnerable / Fair

A-
Strong
Caa
Very Poor

A-
Secure / High

 

8 B-
Vulnerable / Fair
BBB+
Good
Ca
Extremely Poor

BBB+
Secure / Adequate

 

9

C++
Vulnerable / Marginal

BBB
Good
C
Lowest
BBB
Secure / Adequate
10

C+
Vulnerable / Marginal

BBB-
Good
  BBB-
Secure / Adequate
11

C
Vulnerable / Weak

BB+
Marginal
  BB+
Uncertain
12

C-
Vulnerable / Weak

BB
Marginal
  BB
Uncertain
13

D
Vulnerable / Poor

BB-
Marginal
  BB-
Uncertain
14

E
Vulnerable / Under State Supervision

B+
Weak
  B+
Possessing Risk
15

F
Vulnerable / In Liquidation

B
Weak
  B
Possessing Risk
16

S
Rating Suspended

B-
Weak
  B-
Possessing Risk
17   CCC+
Very Weak
 

CCC
Substantial
Risk

18  

CCC
Very Weak

  DD
Liquidating
19   CCC-
Very Weak
 

SR
Suspended Rating

20  

CC
Extremely Weak

   
21  

R
Regulatory Action

   
 

Based on public information only.