Life Insurance Ratings - Best Companies, Best Rates

You need life insurance to provide for your family in case of your death. This means you need to choose a company with a top rating so you can count on that company being around to pay the insurance benefit when your family needs it.

Rating Insurance Companies

Insurance companies receive financial ratings that let you know how financially strong that company is. The ratings are letter grades just like you would see on a report card, with A being the best. To find out the rating of an insurance company, you can ...

* Go to an independent rating service such as A.M. Best (ambest.com), Standard & Poors (standardandpoors.com), or Moodys (moodys.com)

* Check their consumer ratings at J.D. Power and Associates (jdpower.com)

* Check your state's Department of Insurance website In fact, you may want to check and compare multiple sources, as one rating service may give a company a different rating than another company does.

Shop A-Rated Companies

When it's time to purchase life insurance, one way to ensure you're dealing with only A-rated insurance companies is to work through a reputable insurance comparison website. These websites only contract with A-rated companies, so you know that any quotes you receive will be from financially sound companies that will give you good service.

Another advantage to using an insurance comparison website is that it allows you to easily and quickly compare rates from different companies. Did you know that rates from different companies can vary by hundreds of dollars for the same coverage? But when you shop through a comparison site, you automatically get quotes from several companies, allowing you to compare them and choose the best quote.

In addition, the best insurance comparison websites let you talk with experts who can answer your insurance questions.