Why we don't just recommend the highest rate
The carrier rating floor we use, when we go higher, and the yield haircut that buys you a stronger name on the paper.
The single highest rate in the feed almost always belongs to a carrier you've never heard of.
That's not a coincidence — the rate is high because the carrier is paying you to take on risk most savers would rather not carry. So we don't pass that rate along, even when it's technically available.
This page is the full picture of the trade we make on your behalf: the rating floor we hold for the rate table, the tighter filter we apply for life-savings-sized money, and exactly what that yield haircut costs you in dollars.
None of it is a secret — every figure here you can verify yourself, and the last section shows you how.
Two filters, not one
A carrier's financial-strength rating from AM Best is the first thing we look at — before the rate, before the term. We apply two different thresholds depending on what's at stake:
A− — the table floor
The rate table on the site is already filtered: nothing below A− ever makes the cut, even when its advertised rate leads the category. A− is the bottom of AM Best's "Excellent" band — the rating at which the carrier is still judged to have a good ability to meet its ongoing obligations.
A+ / A++ — for life savings
When the deposit is a meaningful chunk of someone's life savings — the kind that would change the next decade if anything went wrong — we go higher still: A+ and A++ carriers only. That's a tighter filter than the baseline, and it costs a little yield. We think the trade is right.
Below A−, AM Best's categories shift to "Good" and "Fair." Those words sound reassuring in everyday English, but in the insurance world they signal a meaningfully higher risk of financial stress.
A rate that's only the best because it sits in that band isn't really the best rate — it's a payment for risk you probably didn't want to take.
What GetSure does
A− is the published filter for the marketplace; A+ / A++ is the working filter we apply in conversation for money that matters. For a large deposit, the right comparison isn't "best available rate" — it's "best available rate from a name that still looks strong twenty years from now."
Where the two filters fall on the AM Best scaleEvery rate in the marketplace clears the A− floor. For life-savings-sized deposits, we hold to the tighter A+ / A++ band.
What the haircut actually costs
The yield gap between the very top of the feed and what we'd recommend is real, but smaller than most people expect.
On a representative 5-year fixed annuity, the difference between the highest-advertised rate and the strongest A+ / A++ carrier in the same term is typically 25 to 50 basis points — a quarter to a half a percent of yield.
| What you're looking at | Carrier strength | Yield vs. the top |
|---|---|---|
| Top rate in the market | Below A− (Good / Fair) | Maxed out |
| Our baseline filter | A− or better | 10–25 bps lower |
| Life-savings recommendation | A+ / A++ only | 25–50 bps lower |
A basis point is one-hundredth of a percent. 25–50 bps is a yield difference of 0.25%–0.50% a year.
Put in dollars on a $100,000 deposit, that 25–50 bps is $250 to $500 of yield a year.
Real money — but it's the price of moving from a carrier whose financial position might surprise you to a name with the balance sheet to make that question uninteresting.
Illustrative. The figure is the yield difference only; your principal is guaranteed by the issuing carrier in either case.
A worked example, in dollars
Ranges are easy to wave away, so here is the whole trade laid out on a single $100,000 deposit in a 5-year term, compounded annually.
We compare three places that same money could sit: the top rate in the feed (from a carrier below our floor), the strongest A+ / A++ name we'd actually recommend, and a high-yield savings account as the cash benchmark.
| Where the money sits | Rate | Value at year 5 | vs. our pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top rate in the feed (below A−) | 5.50% | $130,696 | +$2,440 |
| Our A+ / A++ recommendation | 5.10% | $128,256 | — |
| High-yield savings (cash benchmark) | 4.00% | $121,665 | −$6,591 |
Illustrative rates for the shape of the trade, not a quote. The annuity also compounds tax-deferred, while the savings account is taxed each year — so the real after-tax gap to cash is wider than the table shows.
Read the two gaps side by side. Moving up to the stronger carrier costs about $2,440 over five years — roughly $488 a year.
Staying in cash instead of the annuity costs about $6,591 over the same five years, before tax.
The yield you give up to climb the rating ladder is small next to the yield the annuity is already winning over cash — which is exactly why we'd rather spend it on a name that's still standing when the contract pays.
Why the carrier matters more than the rate
A fixed annuity is a contract that pays out years after you sign it. A 5-year term you fund today is paying its claim out in 2031; a 7-year term lands in 2033.
A lifetime-income contract is making payments that don't stop for decades. The advertised rate is what the carrier promises to pay under the assumption it's still solvent when the term ends — and that assumption is doing more work than the brochure makes it look.
The rate is a promise about the futureWhat you sign today is paid out years from now — so the strength of the name matters as much as the number.
Insurer insolvencies are rare — rare enough that the historical record for fixed-annuity holders is genuinely reassuring.
But "rare" isn't "never," and the consequences of a rare event landing on a meaningful chunk of someone's retirement are not symmetric with the consequences of giving up a quarter of a percent of yield.
We pick the side of that trade that lets people sleep.
A rating isn't a guarantee
Even an A++ rating is a probability assessment, reviewed annually — carriers can change faster than their ratings. Our discipline cross-checks the Comdex composite (90+) and watches for negative outlook revisions, rather than trusting a single letter grade.
Even after the haircut, the spread is wide
The thing that makes the haircut easy to live with is the size of today's safe-money spread — the gap between what cash earns and what a strong fixed annuity pays — which is unusually wide by historical standards.
Even after filtering down to A+ / A++ carriers, the recommended rate sits well above what you'd earn in a high-yield savings account or a short Treasury.
The gain also compounds tax-deferred for the length of the term. The carrier doesn't issue a 1099 each year for interest accruing inside the contract; the tax event lands when you withdraw.
Over a 5- or 7-year term, that deferral meaningfully widens the after-tax gap between cash and a fixed annuity — often by more than the 25–50 bps you gave up to move up the rating ladder.
So the net picture, after the haircut: a yield comfortably above cash, in a contract compounding without a yearly tax drag, from a carrier whose financial strength is unlikely to be the surprising part of your retirement.
What to ask before you commit
Whether you're reading a rate table, comparing quotes, or talking it through with someone, these questions surface everything the rating filter is built to protect. Any honest source answers all five plainly:
"What's the carrier's exact AM Best grade and outlook?" You want the precise letter (A−, not "A-rated") plus Stable, Positive, or Negative — not a brand reassurance.
"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 on the brochure.
"How do the other agencies grade it?" S&P, Moody's, or Fitch grades — or a Comdex of 90+ — confirm 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. Check your state's limit →
How to check this for yourself
You don't have to take our word for any of it. Four steps reproduce exactly what we do:
Open the rate table. The live marketplace is the filtered feed — A− and above only.
Read the rating column. Every product shows the carrier's AM Best rating next to the rate. Filter to A+ / A++ to see what we'd recommend for life-savings-sized deposits.
Verify on AM Best directly. Use the carrier's full legal name on ambest.com and check the rating, the outlook (Stable / Positive / Negative), and the affirmation date.
Cross-check the Comdex. A composite of 90+ across AM Best, Moody's, S&P, and Fitch is a useful second signal — covered in our AM Best Rating Guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just show me the single highest rate?
Because the highest rate in the feed usually comes from a carrier below our A− floor. The extra yield is a payment for taking on financial-strength risk — risk that doesn't show up until the contract is years old. We filter it out so the table only shows rates we'd be comfortable recommending.
Do you earn more by steering me to a particular carrier?
No. GetSure is commission-based and we disclose that openly, but our compensation doesn't change based on which rate you pick. The rating discipline on this page is about your outcome, not ours.
Is my principal at risk if I stay above the floor?
A fixed annuity's principal is guaranteed by the issuing carrier and backed further by your state's guaranty association up to its limit. The rating filter is about the strength of that carrier guarantee over the life of the contract. See how that protection compares to FDIC.
How much rate do I actually give up to move up a tier?
Typically 25 to 50 basis points — a quarter to a half a percent of yield, or roughly $250–$500 a year on $100,000. The worked example above shows that gap is small next to the yield the annuity is already winning over cash, which is what makes the trade easy to live with.
What happens to my rate if the carrier gets downgraded after I buy?
Nothing changes about a contract you already own. Your rate and guarantee are locked in by the contract itself, not by the rating — a downgrade can't reach back and rewrite them. Starting with a name comfortably above the floor is simply how you keep a one-notch move from dropping you into territory you'd never have chosen.
How often do annuity carriers 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. "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 floor. The AM Best Rating Guide walks through the order of protection if a carrier ever fails.
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