Three Financial Rating Services Dominate Selection
Three companies -- A. M. Best, Standard and Poor's and Moody's --
dominate the rating services market, according to insurance professionals who evaluated
these services in a recent PULSE Survey conducted by the American Society of CLU
and CHFC.
According to survey respondents, A. M. Best, Moody's and Standard and Poor's either
alone or in combination with others, accounted for a full 100 percent of total ratings
usage during 1991.
Asked to evaluate the rating services in terms of credibility, usefulness and ease
of understanding, PULSE respondents again gave top marks to A. M. Best, Moody's
and Standard and Poor's. All three services received a positive response in all
three categories from more than 85 percent of the respondents.
Of the 524 chartered life underwriters and chartered financial consultants who serve
as PULSE Survey panelists, 377 answered the survey for a 72 percent response rate.
The addresses and phone numbers for the three commercial rating services follow:
Source:
Excerpted from Insurance Advocate April 11, 1992 which reported on the "PULSE Survey
Report on Life Insurance Rating Services". American Society of CLU and ChFC, 270
Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr, Penn. 19010.
Note:
Listings of ratings and explanations are often available in business and large public
libraries.