Purchase your insurance policy through a top rated company. When it comes to insurance, ratings are something that you should seriously consider. When companies get rated they are put up to measures, strict standards, and tests that they must meet. There are many aspects of the insurance provider and their service that are measured.
Now there are various insurance rating companies, but most people go by the ratings from A.M. Best Company. The A.M. Best Company is America’s oldest and most reliable insurance evaluating service. They have been this country’s leading independent insurance evaluator for almost one hundred years. Their ratings reflect the highest standard of an insurer’s financial stability.
In general you will know that if a company has received an A rating or above for both financial strength and stability by the A.M. Best company, they are a company worth getting a policy through.
Most of the top-rated companies rated by AM Best are companies that pay no sales commission. Such companies, in general, have lower prices for insurance, but are not likely to be offered to you by your agent or broker, because they won’t get any commission off selling you insurance from that company.
Top rated companies are the only insurance companies to get a policy through, so let’s take a look at how AM Best, rates companies, and what their ratings tell you:
The ratings reflect A.M. Best’s opinion of a company’s financial strength and ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders. This opinion is obtained by holding the company up to measures, and by evaluating the company. A Best’s Rating IS NOT A WARRANTY of an insurer’s current or future ability to meet its obligations to policyholders nor a recommendation for a specific policy form, contract rate or claim practice. It is simply a statement that says at the time the rating was given, this is one of the better financially stable companies to choose from.
So what are the ratings that are assigned to insurers which meet the standards for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of a company’s financial condition and operating performance? Basically they are as follows:
Secure Ratings, these are the ratings given to financially sound insurance companies.
A++, A+Superior
A, A-Excellent
B++, B+Very Good
Vulnerable Ratings, these are for the companies who were not given secure ratings, there of course are levels within this next set, where you find not bad companies to go with, but not as good or financially sound as others to those you would be a fool to get a policy through.
B, B-Adequate
C++, C+Fair
C, C-Marginal
DVery Marginal
EUnder State Supervision
FIn Liquidation
As you can see, you can get an idea, just as if you were in school, which are the better and worse companies. The letters closer to the beginning of the alphabet indicate a better rating.
Among such ratings are rating modifiers. Rating Modifiers are added to A.M. Best’s Ratings to identify companies whose assigned ratings are based on an affiliation with other insurers (g,p,r), or to show the rating may be subject to change based on current exposures (q,u). These modifiers are as follows:
gGroup Rating
pPooled Rating
rReinsured Rating
qQualified Rating
uUnder Review
xRevised Rating
Choosing a top rated company is a great way to help yourself to know that you are not being scammed, and that you will have your claims processed quickly and the company will have the financial stability to pay out on your claims. So, when you look for insurance policies for you and your family, ask your agent for top rated companies, and maybe even do a little rate checking on your own.