Life Insurance Ratings explanation...
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Life Insurance company Rating Agency	Category	Description	# of life insurance companies in category	% of rated life insurance companies in category
A.M. Best	A++	Superior	67	4.5
	A+	Superior	259	17.3
	A	Excellent	288	19.2
	A-	Excellent	326	21.7
	B++	Very good	166	11.1
	B+	Very good	145	9.7
	B and lower	Vulnerable	250	16.5
Fitch	AAA	Exceptionally strong	24	5.4
	AA+	Very strong	72	16.3
	AA	Very strong	68	15.3
	AA-	Very strong	78	17.6
	A+	Strong	59	13.3
	A	Strong	52	11.7
	A-	Strong	38	8.6
	BBB+	Good	17	3.8
	BBB	Good	21	4.7
	BBB-	Good	8	1.8
	BB+ and lower	Vulnerable	6	1.4
Moody's	Aaa	Exceptional	12	3.8
	Aa1	Excellent	18	5.6
	Aa2	Excellent	59	18.4
	Aa3	Excellent	91	28.4
	A1	Good	24	7.5
	A2	Good	33	10.3
	A3	Good	48	15.0
	Baa1	Adequate	16	5.0
	Baa2	Adequate	3	0.9
	Baa3	Adequate	1	0.3
	Ba1 and lower	Vulnerable	15	4.7
S & P	AAA	Extremely strong	30	4.6
	AA+	Very strong	43	6.5
	AA	Very strong	97	14.7
	AA-	Very strong	63	9.6
	A+	Strong	83	12.6
	A	Strong	134	20.4
	A-	Strong	61	9.3
	BBB+	Good	26	4.0
	BBB	Good	37	5.6
	BBB-	Good	4	0.6
	BB+ and lower	Vulnerable	80	12.2
Weiss*	A+	Excellent	29**	3
	A	Excellent	29**	3
	A-	Excellent	29**	3
	B+	Good	282**	29
	B	Good	282**	29
	B-	Good	282**	29
	C+	Fair	380**	39
	C	Fair	380**	39
	C-	Fair	380**	39
	D+ and lower	Vulnerable	272**	28
*2004 figures; updated information not available **As of March 25, 2003

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