Annual Special Ratings Issue

Each year, we publish a special ratings issue, which is a compilation of financial strength ratings of insurance companies. The issue explains the importance of ratings and suggests how they should be used by consumers and those who give advice to consumers. For the last several years, the September issue has been the special ratings issue, and subscribers to The Insurance Forum receive the issue as part of their subscription. However, the issue is also available alone, and it is widely purchased by insurance agents, brokers, and consumers.

September 2010 Special Ratings Issue

Our 32-page September 2010 special ratings issue shows 1,755 ratings assigned to 1,018 U.S. and Canadian life-health insurance companies and 657 ratings assigned to 272 large U.S. property-liability companies by A. M. Best Company, Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, and Standard & Poor's as of August 2, 2010. The issue includes a list of 138 life-health companies that are suggested for consumers who are conservative from the standpoint of financial strength, a watch list of 243 life-health companies that show signs of possible financial difficulty, the rating firms' descriptions of their rating categories, and the distributions of the life-health ratings.

A new feature this year is the outlook assigned to each rating by the rating firms. "Positive" means any medium-term rating change is likely to be upward, "negative" means any medium-term rating change is likely to be downward, "stable" means no medium-term rating change is likely, and "developing" means the direction of any medium-term rating change is uncertain.

The price of the September 2010 special ratings issue is $25. Quantities of the issue sent in one shipment are priced as follows: $18 each for at least 2, $12 each for at least 10, and $10 each for at least 25. Further discounts apply to orders of at least 100 reprints of the issue.  

For information on how to order, click on the "How to Order" button, or click here.

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