The five rating agencies use different grading systems to denote the financial strength of insurance companies. Some give grades with the letter A in them even to less than top-notch insurers - a potential source of confusion to buyers who assume an A means excellent.

Of these rating agencies, there is also a difference in how critically they grade the insurance companies. Typically, A.M Best, Standard & Poor's, and Duff & Phelps grade the easiest, followed by Moody's and then Weiss, being the most critical.

Here are the grades, from highest to lowest for each rating agency.

A.M. Best	Duff & Phelps	Moody's	Standard & Poor's	Weiss
A++	AAA	Aaa	AAA	A+
A+	AA+	Aa1	AA+	A
A	AA	Aa2	AA	A-
A-	AA-	Aa3	AA-	B+
B++	A+	A1	A+	B
B+	A	A2	A	B-
B	A-	A3	A-	C+
B-	BBB+	Baa1	BBB+	C
C++	BBB	Baa2	BBB	C-
C+	BBB-	Baa3	BBB-	D+
C	BB+	Ba1	BB+	D
C-	BB	Ba2	BB	D-
D	BB-	Ba3	BB-	E+
E	B+	B1	B+	E
F	B	B2	B	E-
	B-	B3	B-	F
	CCC	Caa	CCC
		Ca