Insurance Company Watch List

Since 1989 I have subscribed to The Insurance Forum, which is a newsletter published by Professor Joe Belth, an industry watchdog of long standing.

This is the only place I know of to see the ratings from all the major services. A company won’t tout bad ratings, and rating services don’t publish lists, so a good source of ratings on all companies is elusive-unless you get The Insurance Forum.

Their annual “Ratings Issue” just arrived, and I was surprised to see almost 1/3 of all 1,550 insurance companies showing signs of financial problems hence they are on the newsletter’s "Watch List".

The last time I saw such a large group of insurance companies on the Watch List was in 1990, and a flurry of insurance company failures followed, including AAA rated Executive Life which, at the time it failed, was the 11th largest insurance company in America.

Fixed rate annuities and life policies become vulnerable in the event of an insurance company failure, so “heads up”.

If you want to see the list stop by the office, or call if you want the ratings on your insurer.