Abstract: A.M. Best Ratings refer to the insurance ratings assigned by A.M. Best Co.. This reputed Insurance rating Company issues different types of insurance ratings including Financial Strength Rating, Issuer Credit Rating and Security Rating.
A.M. Best Ratings refer to the insurance ratings provided by A.M. Best Co., the oldest insurance rating company of the world.
Alfred M. Best established A.M. BEST CO. long back in 1899. This insurance rating organization of USA has offices in New Jersey, Washington, London and Hong Kong.
Types of Insurance Ratings assigned by A.M. Best Co.
1. Financial Strength Rating-A.M. Best Co. assigns this rating after evaluating the financial performance of the respective insurance company. A.M. Best issues this rating after ensuring that, the insurance company is able to pay the insurance claims. The business profile and operating performance of the insurance companies are also judged in this case.
2. Issuer Credit Rating -A.M. Best assigns Issuer Credit Rating, in order to assess a particular insurance company’s ability of meeting its obligations. This Issuer Credit Rating can be categorized in to ratings of Investment Grade and Non-Investment Grade. A.M. Best Co. issues both Long Term Issuer Credit Rating and Short Term Issuer Credit Ratings.
Other than these two main types of insurance ratings, A.M. Best Co. also offers Security Ratings, Bond Ratings.
It should be mentioned here, that, the other rating companies like Moody's, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's offer ratings for companies of different sectors. But, A.M. Best Co. assigns ratings only to the companies of the insurance sector. So, all the ratings issued by the A.M. Best are referred as Insurance Ratings.