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Financial Rating Categories |
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Financial strength ratings are provided for
consumers and investors by third-party rating
organizations. These organizations review the
financial performance and condition of most insurers
to provide opinions regarding strength, operating
performance and ability to meet obligations to
policyholders. The rating categories in any given
rank are not equivalent to one another. |
|
Rank |
A.M. Best |
Standard & Poor's |
Moody's |
Fitch |
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1 |
A++ = Superior |
AAA = Extremely Strong |
Aaa = Exceptional |
AAA = Exceptionally Strong |
|
2 |
A+ = Superior |
AA+ = Very Strong |
Aa1 = Excellent |
AA+ = Very Strong |
|
3 |
A = Excellent |
AA = Very Strong |
Aa2 = Excellent |
AA = Very Strong |
|
4 |
A- = Excellent |
AA- = Very Strong |
Aa3 = Excellent |
AA- = Very Strong |
|
5 |
B++ = Very Good |
A+ = Strong |
A1 = Good |
A+ = Strong |
|
6 |
B+ = Very Good |
A = Good |
A2 = Good |
A = Strong |
|
7 |
B = Fair |
A- = Good |
A3 = Good |
A- = Strong |
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8 |
B- = Fair |
BBB+ = Good |
Baa1 = Adequate |
BBB+ = Good |
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9 |
C++ = Marginal |
BBB = Adequate |
Baa2 = Adequate |
BBB = Good |
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10 |
C+ = Marginal |
BBB- = Adequate |
Baa3 = Adequate |
BBB- = Good |
|
11 |
C = Weak |
BB+ = Marginal |
Ba1 = Questionable |
BB+ = Moderately Weak |
|
12 |
C- = Weak |
BB = Marginal |
Ba2 = Questionable |
BB = Moderately Weak |
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13 |
D = Poor |
BB- = Marginal |
Ba3 = Questionable |
BB- = Moderately Weak |
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14 |
E = State Supervision |
B+ = Weak |
B1 = Poor |
B+ = Weak |
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15 |
F = In Liquidation |
B = Weak |
B2 = Poor |
B = Weak |
|
16 |
S = Rating Suspended |
B- = Weak |
B3 = Poor |
B- = Weak |
|
17 |
None |
CCC+ = Very Weak |
Caa1 = Very Poor |
CCC = Very Weak |
|
18 |
None |
CCC = Very Weak |
Caa2 = Very Poor |
CC = Very Weak |
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19 |
None |
CCC- = Very Weak |
Caa3 = Very Poor |
C = Very Weak |
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20 |
None |
CC = Extremely Weak |
Ca = Extremely Poor |
DDD = Distressed |
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21 |
None |
R = State Supervision |
C = Lowest |
DD = Distressed |
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22 |
None |
None |
None |
D = Distressed |
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Considerations |
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The ratings shown reflect the opinions of the rating
agencies and are not implied warranties of the
company's ability to meet its contractual
obligations. |
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The ratings do not apply to mutual funds and the
subaccounts of variable products, which are subject
to market risk. |
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Under Standard & Poor's rating system, a "pi"
denotes a rating derived solely from published
financial information and other information in the
public domain. |
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A.M. Best, S&P, Moody's and Fitch
review their ratings
periodically and we cannot assure you that we will
maintain our current ratings in the future. Other
agencies may also rate our company or our insurance
subsidiaries on a solicited or an unsolicited basis |
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S&P states that an insurer rated
"AA" (Very Strong) has very strong financial
security characteristics that outweigh any
vulnerabilities, and is highly likely to have the
ability to meet financial commitments. The "AA"
range is the second-highest of the four ratings
ranges that meet these criteria, and also is the
second-highest of nine financial strength rating
ranges assigned by S&P, which range from "AAA" to
"R." A plus (+) or minus (-) shows relative standing
in a rating category. Accordingly, the "AA" and
"AA-" ratings are the third- and fourth-highest of
S&P's 20 ratings categories. |
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Moody's states that insurance
companies rated "Aa" (Excellent) offer excellent
financial security. Moody's states that companies in
this group constitute what are generally known as
high-grade companies. The "Aa" range is the
second-highest of nine financial strength rating
ranges assigned by Moody's, which range from "Aaa"
to "C." Numeric modifiers are used to refer to the
ranking within the group, with 1 being the highest
and 3 being the lowest. Accordingly, the "Aa2" and
"Aa3" ratings are the third- and fourth-highest of
Moody's 21 ratings categories. |
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Fitch states that "AA" (Very
Strong) rated insurance companies are viewed as
possessing very strong capacity to meet policyholder
and contract obligations. Risk factors are modest,
and the impact of any adverse business and economic
factors is expected to be very small. The "AA"
rating category is the second-highest of eight
financial strength rating categories, which range
from "AAA" to "D." The symbol (+) or (-) may be
appended to a rating to indicate the relative
position of a credit within a rating category. These
suffixes are not added to ratings in the "AAA"
category or to ratings below the "CCC" category.
Accordingly, the "AA" and "AA-" ratings are the
third- and fourth-highest of Fitch's 22 ratings
categories. |
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The Insurance Marketplace Standards Association (IMSA)
is a voluntary membership association created by the
life insurance industry to promote high standards of
ethical market conduct in the sale and service of
individual life insurance, annuities and long term
care products. |