Comparable FIA to equitable grand teton

[gpinkerton]

Company ratings are basically whatever they willing to pay to get. As an agent we tend to shy away from B+ rated companies vs. A rated or higher. Just remember in 2008 , AIG was A++ and had to be bailed out . So can we trust any rating service?

 

[scagnt83]

Company ratings are basically whatever they willing to pay to get. As an agent we tend to shy away from B+ rated companies vs. A rated or higher. Just remember in 2008 , AIG was A++ and had to be bailed out . So can we trust any rating service?

This is completely incorrect.

To receive an A rating or higher, there is strict criteria that must be met. Most of it is publicly accessible, meaning if the ratings companies were lying, it would be easy to call them out on it.

(with insurance carrier ratings at least, there are many different types of financial ratings for various industries that ratings companies cover)


Concerning AIG, the life insurance arm did not need to be bailed out. It has always been solvent, and still is. It was the investment banking side of the conglomerate (meaning a totally separate business entity) that required the bailout. There were zero issues with the life policies, and is still today one of the top life carriers in the business.


Concerning the "pay to play" accusations of the ratings industry. It has certainly been an issue in certain sectors, such as the world of exotic institutional investments such as CDS agreements. Even in the junk bond world at times. There has also been an issue of misunderstanding the scope of those products. But those are private investments with zero public information available.... they are also extremely complex financial instruments which at that time, were new the the market and had very little historical info to understand.

Yes there were issues, but none of them had anything to do with the insurance industry. Investment banks might call CDS contracts "insurance".... but it is more of an "investment hedge". It is not a legally regulated insurance product sold by an licensed insurance carrier.


Statements like you posted spread misinformation and fear. And are often used to promote carriers with less than stellar financial ratings.

 

[scagnt83]

So can we trust any rating service?

If you took the time to fully understand how ratings work, specifically how insurance carrier ratings work vs. other types of financial ratings. You would not ask such a question.

 

[R. Paul Aguirre]

Not sure if you are still looking, but as far as illustratable rates go F&G and Equitrust both have products without fees that will out illustrate the Teton product.