Motorists FE Policy... Hmm...

[pcbinsurance]

"Why does an agent say "I will write A- but not B++" why not Only A or A+ and above"?
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You have to draw the line somewhere. A- is where my line is drawn.

 

[rousemark]

Agents say they won't write with w B+ company but that A++ company they are writing their business with may well be re insuring it with a B+ company. If the big companies are comfortable with them, why shouldn't we be?

Manhattan Insurance Group > About Us > Our History

Have to admit this company does have some impressive milestones in its 162 year history..

 

[TDFnCali]

You are welcome to disagree. However, if you look at the list the facts remain.. The ratings haven't meant much over teh years if I company has a B or above. Shenandoah Life had an A+ rating in 2008.. Yes, they had been downgraded to a B when they failed but that proves my point. Agents were running around confidently selling their products ion 2006, 2007, 2008 etc. and then just a month or two before they go under the rating is dropped. What good was the A+ rating when agents were bragging on it to customers?

On the other hand you would not have written Settlers after NGL took them over because they were a B (initially unassigned) but now they are an A you will write them? The company is still under the same management, has the same investment philosophy, etc. Their financial problem was one that could not possibly have been foreseen by anyone other than Martin Frankle (he knew he was stealing the money)

Would you sell Mother Met now? She has an A rating but she failed the Federal reserve stress test.. Which do you choose to believe.

EL&C has been in business 75 years and has a B+ rating.. I have no problem with them. As an agent I have been through company failures and all of them had an A or better rating with the exception of one and that was a start up company that was totally mismanaged.

Even Best states that their B+ and B++ rating represents a company that has good financial strength.

Well im not saying the Ratings are a Holy Grail or A companies never fold, nothing in life is guaranteed cept death! Its our BEST guage tho, and if u r saying ratings dont matter, then what is a BETTER indicator that the avg person can assess quickly to comprehend? Unless there's something better, Ratings matter A LOT!

 

[nfl72]

i tell my customers the company has an A rating because it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling. I like to compare it to doing a shot of Crown Royal Black.

you guys from Tennesse and Kentuckey can think of doing a shot of the Hatfields moonshine

 

[theinsuranceman]

The best indicator of financial solvency for a carrier is if the State Dept. of Ins. is ok with that Co., then that means the Co.'s financials are ok. AM Best, etc. are meaningless. They are analogous to the BBB...fancy name but mostly useless.

 

[rousemark]

Well im not saying the Ratings are a Holy Grail or A companies never fold, nothing in life is guaranteed cept death! Its our BEST guage tho, and if u r saying ratings dont matter, then what is a BETTER indicator that the avg person can assess quickly to comprehend? Unless there's something better, Ratings matter A LOT!

Even though I occasionally mention a company's rating, I do not believe that in the last 41 years I have ever had a client bring it up. I am more inclined to talk about the length of time the company has been in business and my experience with them. If you register with the AM Best site so you can look at company ratings, there is something that I look at more than the letter rating and that is "outlook".. If it says "stable" then there are no "known" issues that would indicate a pending change.
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i tell my customers the company has an A rating because it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling. I like to compare it to doing a shot of Crown Royal Black.

you guys from Tennesse and Kentuckey can think of doing a shot of the Hatfields moonshine

The only problem is that warm and fuzzy feeling can leave you feeling like crap the next day!