Life Insurance Company Rating Categories

Last Updated: May 27, 2026

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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 is 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 Intramark Insurance 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.  

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Last Updated on May 27, 2026 by Richard Reich

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Richard Reich

Author

Richard Reich

President at Intramark Insurance Services

In my 30+ years as an independent life and disability insurance broker, I have personally assisted thousands of clients with their life and disability insurance needs.

I believe that when people shop for insurance (or anything else, for that matter) on the Internet, they are looking for a simple, non-intrusive, non-pressure method of doing so.

I strive to treat my prospective clients with the utmost respect and I believe an educated prospect can make the right decision without sales pressure.

Being independent, I represent many highly-rated insurance companies and, because I am not beholden to any one insurance company, my focus is to find the right company and policy for each individual client.