The Property Insurance Blog

The 2008-2009 International Insurance Fact Book is now available from the Insurance Information Institute’s online store. The fact book contains statistics on the property insurance industries, as well as life insurance in 89 countries and provides the population, number of premiums, GDP and regulatory bodies of each country, as well as world rankings in terms of revenue and reinsurance. For more details of the insurance industry in the United States, the III store has the 2008 Insurance Fact Book, which details information across the states in handy almanac form, with updates on auto and home insurance claims and an added glossary.

The four higher financial security ratings merit the Security Circle icons, showing S&P’s confidence in the future performance of these companies.

An insurer with a BBB rating indicates Good financial security.

An A rating means the insurer has Strong financial security characteristics.

A rating of AA means that the insurer has Very Strong financial security characteristics.

The AAA rating, the highest issued by Standard & Poor’s, reflects the Extremely Strong financial security characteristics of the insurer.

A high rating does not always mean the the insurer will deliver the best service. It is still best to use the combinations of ratings and the experience of other users to decide which policies and companies to purchase.

Insure.com offers these explanations of insurer ratings to make it more accessible to the homeowner. A rating of NR means Not Rated, or there is no opinion given on the financial security of the insurer. A rating of R stands for Regulatory Supervision, at which time the regulators have a say what obligations must be paid over other obligations. We will go over the ratings in ascending order. In this post, we look at ratings considered vulnerable by Standard & Poor’s.

A CC rating signifies Extremely Weak financial security, suggesting that some financial commitments will probably not be attended to.

A CCC rating means the insurer has Very Weak financial security and may only be able to meet financial commitments depending on the business environment.

A rating of B indicates Weak financial security characteristics. If business conditions are not favorable, its ability to fulfill financial obligations will be hampered.

A rating of BB means the insurer has Marginal security characteristics. In case of adverse business conditions, there may be decreased ability to meet financial commitments.

In an industry that looks at the long-term, financial health is important. This is why Standard & Poor’s rates insurance companies. In this Internet age, making sound judgments is more important than ever, many now purchase insurance online. Note that S&P ratings are opinions, not specific to policies, and based only on information from other organizations. Ratings are not endorsements or guarantees.

Before we go into the letter grades, let us look at the ‘pi’ subscript. ‘Pi’ ratings are based on information available to the public and not as in-depth as ratings without it, which were analyzed through more comprehensive information from the management of the insurer.

Letter ratings may be followed by plus or minus signs to show their standing relative to others companies in that category.

How stable is your property insurance company? Financial strength is perhaps the top criterion when it comes to choosing an insurance company, as the ability to pay claims and obligations depends on this. As a property owner, it is your duty to find out an insurance company’s performance even before signing up for a policy. Nothing says reliability better than Standard & Poor’s financial strength ratings.  S&P issues reports and ratings on financial institutions, including thousands of insurance companies worldwide. Standard & Poor’s Security Circle Icons are your assurance that an insurer has voluntarily underwent S&P review and has one of the top four ratings. When buying insurance, look for the circle.