Basics of Life Insurance - Ratings and Balance Sheets of Life Insurance Companies

Rating Services: AM Best, S&P, Moodys', Fitch, Weiss, Comdex
Claims Paying Ability
Financial Strength and Stability

A.M. Best Company Rating A+ (2) Superior. Assigned to companies that have, in our opinion, a superior ability to meet their ongoing obligations to policyholders.

Standard & Poor's Financial Strength Rating A+ (5) An insurer rated 'A' has STRONG financial security characteristics, but is somewhat more likely to be affected by adverse business conditions than are insurers with higher ratings.

Moody's Financial Strength Rating A1 (5) Insurance companies rated A offer good financial security. However, elements may be present which suggest a susceptibility to impairment sometime in the future.

Fitch Ratings' Insurer Financial Strength Rating A- (7) Strong. 'A' IFS ratings denote a low expectation of ceased or interrupted payments. They indicate strong capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. This capacity may, nonetheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

Comdex Ranking - VitalSigns Composite Index 86
The Comdex gives the average percentile ranking of this company in relation to all other companies that have been rated by the rating services. The Comdex Ranking is the percentage of companies that are rated lower than this company.

[SliceOfLiberty]

It'd probably be more beneficial to also provide a percentage, rather than just ranking, seeing as how they don't all have the same number of rankings.