What an "A-rated" carrier means
A plain-English guide to AM Best financial-strength ratings — what the grades mean, why A− or better is our floor, and how to verify any carrier yourself.
When you buy a fixed annuity, your principal isn't backed by the government — it's backed by the insurance company's promise.
AM Best exists to tell you how good that promise is. Its financial-strength rating is, in plain terms, an assessment of whether the carrier will still be standing and able to pay you years from now.
AM Best is the dominant independent rating agency for insurers, founded in 1899. Its grade reflects the company's balance-sheet strength, operating performance, business profile, and risk management — not just whether it had a good year.
This guide walks through what each grade means, why we draw our line at A−, what happens to your money if a carrier fails, and how to check any carrier in a few minutes.
The rating scale
The letters run from A++ (Superior) at the top down to F (In Liquidation) at the bottom.
The jump that matters most isn't between the A's — it's the drop out of "Excellent" into "Good" and "Fair," words that sound reassuring in everyday English but signal a meaningfully higher risk of financial stress in the insurance world.
| Rating | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A++ | Superior | Exceptional ability to meet obligations. |
| A+ | Superior | Very strong ability to meet obligations. |
| A | Excellent | Strong ability to meet obligations. |
| A− | Excellent | Good ability to meet obligations — GetSure's floor. |
| B++ / B+ | Good | Adequate ability. Below our floor. |
| B / B− | Fair | Marginal ability. Below our floor. |
| C++ / C+ / C | Marginal / Weak | Vulnerable. |
| D | Poor | Very vulnerable. |
| E / F | Supervision / Liquidation | Do not buy. |
AM Best ratings are reviewed annually and carry an outlook (Stable, Positive, or Negative) alongside the letter grade.
Where the line fallsThe four green rungs are the only grades GetSure will surface. Everything below the dashed floor is filtered out — no matter how high the advertised rate.
Why GetSure draws the line at A−
A− is the bottom of "Excellent" — the lowest grade at which AM Best still considers a carrier to have a good ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations.
One notch below, the category changes to "Good" (B++/B+), then "Fair" (B/B−). For six figures of principal that's meant to be the safe part of someone's plan, we don't think the line belongs any lower.
Our rule, in one line
Every fixed-annuity rate in our marketplace comes from a carrier rated A− or better by AM Best. Products from weaker carriers are filtered out — even when they advertise a higher headline rate.
That filter has a real cost: some B-rated carriers advertise rates 25–50 basis points higher. But that extra yield isn't a gift — it's the market pricing in the additional risk of a weaker balance sheet.
The worked example below shows what that trade actually looks like in dollars.
What the extra yield actually buys
Take $100,000 in a 5-year contract. An A− carrier offers 5.40%; a B++ carrier dangles 5.80% — 40 basis points higher. Compounded over five years, here's the whole trade, laid out:
Illustrative, using the carriers' compounded annual rates over the five-year term. The real question: is roughly $2,460 over five years — about $490 a year — worth a meaningfully weaker balance sheet standing behind six figures of principal? GetSure's answer is no, which is why the rate table filters below A−.
Framed another way: that 40-basis-point pickup buys you about half a percent of extra yield in exchange for moving from a carrier with a good ability to pay (A−) to one with merely an adequate one (B++).
On money you're counting on a decade from now, that's the wrong side of the trade.
How the four big agencies line up
AM Best isn't the only agency that grades insurers. S&P, Moody's, and Fitch rate many of the same carriers, and each uses its own scale — so a brochure or statement might quote an "AA−" or an "A1" instead of an AM Best letter.
The grades don't map one-to-one (the agencies weigh things differently), but the broad tiers line up closely enough to translate at a glance:
| Strength tier | AM Best | S&P | Moody's | Fitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest | A++ / A+ | AAA / AA | Aaa / Aa | AAA / AA |
| Strong — our zone | A / A− | A+ / A / A− | A1 / A2 / A3 | A+ / A / A− |
| Below our floor | B++ / B+ | BBB | Baa | BBB |
| Weak | B / B− and below | BB and below | Ba and below | BB and below |
Approximate tier alignment — the agencies don't publish an official one-to-one crosswalk, and a carrier can sit a notch apart between them. Use it to translate a quoted grade into roughly where it falls, then verify the actual rating on the agency's own site.
What the rating doesn't tell you
A strong grade is a green light to keep looking, not a guarantee. Three honest limits worth keeping in mind:
It's not a bond credit score
AM Best rates insurers specifically. Moody's, S&P, and Fitch rate the same companies for bond investors, and their grades can differ slightly from AM Best's.
It's not live-updated
Ratings are reviewed annually. A carrier's real financial position can move faster than its rating does, so the date of the last affirmation matters.
It doesn't promise performance
A rating is a probability assessment, not a promise. Even an A-rated carrier can run into trouble — it's just rare, which is the whole point of the grade.
"A-rated" gets stretched
Some sources loosely count B++ or B+ as "A-rated." The actual grade should be visible on the carrier's own site and on AM Best directly — so verify it.
What happens if a carrier fails
The rating answers one question: how likely is failure? It doesn't tell you what failure would actually mean for your money.
Worth knowing, because the answer is more reassuring than most people expect — and it's exactly what the A− floor is built around.
An insurer doesn't simply vanish. There's an ordered process, and your contract is protected at more than one layer along the way.
The order of protection if a carrier gets into troubleEach layer has to be exhausted before the next one matters. Most stress events never get past the first.
The carrier keeps paying. Insurers are required to hold reserves and capital against every contract they write. A weak quarter, or even a weak year, doesn't touch your guarantee — which is the gap between everyday English and the insurance meaning of "Fair."
The state regulator steps in. If a carrier's finances deteriorate, its home-state insurance department can place it under supervision and then rehabilitation — running the company, raising capital, or transferring the in-force contracts to a healthier insurer. Most troubled blocks of annuities are quietly taken over by another carrier and keep paying as written.
The guaranty association backstops you. If the carrier is ultimately liquidated, your state's guaranty association covers annuity contracts up to a statutory limit — commonly $250,000 in present value per owner, though the cap varies by state. That's the floor beneath the floor.
Two reasons this isn't a free pass to buy weak carriers
First, money above your state's cap at a failed carrier is real exposure — which is why we'd rather you not be the one finding out where the limit is.
Second, during rehabilitation a regulator can impose a temporary moratorium freezing withdrawals and surrenders, so even a fully covered contract can be locked up for a stretch.
A strong rating is how you avoid the whole detour. See your state's limit →
How to check a carrier yourself
You don't have to take anyone's word for a rating, including ours. The whole check takes a couple of minutes:
Open ambest.com and use the company search.
Search the carrier's full legal name — e.g. "Athene Annuity and Life Company," not just the brand on the brochure.
Read both the financial-strength rating and the outlook — Stable, Positive, or Negative.
Check freshness — an affirmation older than ~18 months is worth noting before you lean on it.
When a brochure says "A-rated," verify it
The claim is easy to make and easy to stretch. Confirm the actual letter grade on the carrier's own website and on AM Best directly before you rely on it.
One more signal: Comdex
Comdex isn't an AM Best rating — it's a composite score from 1–100 that blends AM Best, Moody's, S&P, and Fitch into a single number.
A Comdex of 90+ generally means the carrier is rated highly by all the major agencies at once, which makes it a useful tiebreaker when you're choosing between two A-rated carriers.
Use the rating with the rate, not instead of it
When a higher rate looks attractive, check the carrier's grade in the live marketplace before you decide. Strength first, then yield.
What to ask before you commit
Whether you're reading a brochure, talking to an agent, or comparing rates yourself, these five questions surface everything the rating is meant to protect against. Any honest source will answer all five plainly:
"What's the carrier's exact AM Best letter grade — and what's the outlook?" You want the precise grade (A−, not "A-rated") plus Stable, Positive, or Negative.
"When was that rating last affirmed?" An affirmation older than roughly 18 months is worth a second look before you lean on it.
"What's the carrier's full legal name?" The contract is issued by a specific legal entity — that's the name you verify on AM Best, not the marketing brand.
"How do the other agencies grade it?" S&P, Moody's, or Fitch grades — or a Comdex of 90+ — confirm that the strength shows up across the board, not just at one agency.
"Will my deposit stay under my state's guaranty limit?" If a single deposit would exceed the cap, splitting it across two strong carriers keeps every dollar inside the backstop.
Frequently asked questions
Is A− safe enough for my principal?
A− is the bottom of AM Best's "Excellent" tier — a carrier with a good ability to meet its obligations. It's the lowest grade we'll put in front of you. On top of the carrier's own strength, fixed annuities are backed by your state's guaranty association up to its limit. See how that protection compares to FDIC.
Why not just take the higher rate from a B-rated carrier?
Because the extra 25–50 basis points is the market pricing in extra risk, not free money. On $100,000 over five years it works out to roughly $2,500 — a thin reward for a meaningfully weaker balance sheet behind your principal. We filter those products out.
Do all the rating agencies agree?
Not always exactly. AM Best, Moody's, S&P, and Fitch each grade the same carriers and can land a notch apart. The broad tiers line up (see the crosswalk above), so a composite like Comdex (90+ is strong) is handy as a cross-check when you're deciding between two well-rated carriers.
Can a carrier's rating drop after I've bought the contract?
Yes — a rating is reviewed annually and can be raised, lowered, or put on negative outlook. A downgrade doesn't change the terms of a contract you already own; your rate and guarantee are locked in by the contract itself.
It's a reason to start with a strong carrier and a comfortable cushion above the floor, so a one-notch move doesn't drop you into territory you'd never have chosen.
How often do insurers actually fail?
Rarely — and even when a carrier gets into trouble, annuity holders are usually made whole through a transfer to a healthier insurer or the state guaranty association, as the order of protection above lays out.
"Rare" isn't "never," though, and the cost of being on the wrong side of a rare event with six figures of principal isn't symmetric with the small yield you give up to avoid it. That asymmetry is the whole case for the A− floor.
Is the AM Best rating the same as a bond credit rating?
Not quite. AM Best's Financial Strength Rating measures a carrier's ability to pay its policy and contract obligations — exactly what backs your annuity.
A credit rating measures the company's ability to repay its debt, which matters to bondholders. They usually move together, but the financial-strength rating is the one that speaks to your contract.
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