by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC
A.M. Best Company has been issuing financial strength ratings for 125 years- since 1899
These financial strength ratings represent A.M. Best’s opinion concerning the ability of individual insurance companies to pay claims on the the policies of insurance they have written.
Claims paying ability is something that should be of prime importance to tort victims receiving or contemplating structured settlements, their lawyers, and anyone owning or contemplating the purchase of life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, medical insurance or accepting a payment stream involving any non qualified assignment covering a long term payment obligation like structured sales, structured celebrity endorsements, structured attorney fees, divorce structured settlements, employment structured settlements or environmental structured settlements
The July issue of Best’s Review named 48 property and casualty insurers and 15 life and health insurers who have maintained a Best’s Financial Strength rating of A (Excellent) or better for at a least 75 years. A number of these companies issue structured settlement annuity policies, or are former issuers of structured settlement annuities.
75 years of AM Best “A” (Excellent) or better
- Aviva Life and Annuity (and predecessors)
- John Hancock Life Insurance Company
- Genworth Life and Annuity (and predecessors-former structured annuity issuer)
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
- New York Life Insurance Company
- The Prudential Insurance Company of America
Best’s ALSO lists companies with:
50 years of AM Best “A” (Excellent) or better
- American General
- American Home Assurance Company (one of AIG structured settlements qualified assignee)
- National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA (one of AIG structured settlements qualified assignee)
- Hartford Life Insurance Company
- Canada Life Assurance Company (former structured annuity issuer)
- Liberty Life
- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (former structured annuity issuer)
- Transamerica Occidental Life (AEGON structured settlements-former structured annuity issuer)
- United of Omaha (former structured annuity issuer)
In these challenging financial times the aforementioned information is important. To put things in perspective, in the 75 years since the bottom of The Great Depression, a number of dramatic world events have occurred
- World War II
- Korean War
- Suez Crisis
- Kennedy Assassination
- Six Day War
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Vietnam War
- 1970s Terrorism
- Yom Kippur War and the 1973 Oil Crisis
- Mini-Recessions of 1980 and Recession of 1981-1982
- Oil crises of 1979, 1990 and 2008
- AIDS pandemic 1981+
- Stock Market Crash of 1987
- US Recession 1990-1992/ Global 1990-1993
- Gulf War
- Global Recession 1998
- 1997 Asian Financial Crisis
- 1998 Russian Financial Crisis
- 9-11
- Global Recession 2001-2002
- 7-7
- Wars on Terror/ Iraqi Freedom Iraq & Afghanistan War
The following numbers, from Best’s Review, illustrate that these structured settlement annuity companies have not only have stood the test of time to pay their claims, but they have experienced long term growth despite having had to navigate turbulent economic times over many years:
Assets in 1928
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company $2.3B
- New York Life $1.4B
- The Prudential Insurance Company of America 1.78B
Assets year end 2007
- Metropolitan Life Insurance Company $297.46B
- New York Life $122.75B
- The Prudential Insurance Company of America $252B
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