TheStreet.com Ratings evaluates the financial strength of more than 13,000 institutions, including life, health, and annuity insurers, property and casualty insurers, HMOs, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, banks, and savings and loans. In addition, they track the risk-adjusted performance of over 20,000 mutual funds and more than 6,000 stocks. TheStreet.com Ratings tracks the financial safety of approximately 1,700 U.S. life, health, and annuity insurance companies each and every quarter.

Standard & Poor's is a leading provider of financial market intelligence. Standard & Poor's (S&P) is a credit and ratings firm that specializes in ratings, indices, equity research, risk solutions, investment advisory service and data services. Its branches are located throughout the world. Product offerings include: 1) Ratings: S&P analyzes issuers and debt obligations of corporations, states and municipalities, financial institutions, insurance companies and sovereign governments.

Moody's Investors Service is among the world's most respected and widely utilized sources for credit ratings, research and risk analysis. Moody's commitment and expertise contribute to stable, transparent and integrated financial markets, protecting the integrity of credit. In addition to their core ratings business, Moody's provides research data and analytic tools for assessing credit risk, and publishes market-leading credit opinions, deal research and commentary, serving more than 9,300 customer accounts at some 2,400 institutions around the globe.

Fitch Ratings is a global rating agency committed to providing the world's credit markets with independent and prospective credit opinions, research, and data. With 50 offices worldwide, Fitch Ratings' global expertise, built on a foundation of local market experience, spans across capital markets in over 150 countries. Fitch Ratings is widely recognized by investors, issuers, and bankers for its credible, transparent, and timely coverage. Fitch Ratings is headquartered in New York and London and is part of the Fitch Group.

A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization serving the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors.

Policyholders and depositors refer to Best's ratings and analysis as a means of assessing the financial strength and creditworthiness of risk-bearing entities and investment vehicles.

The Best’s Insurance Reports, considered an industry standard, are used to assess the balance sheet strength, profitability and creditworthiness of thousands of insurers and reinsurers.

Insurance Company rating agency A.M. Best released a report on the state of the industry for life and annuity insurance companies.

The report is somewhat optimistic given the carnage the industry has experienced over the past year or so.

The industry as a whole managed to eke out a small amount of net income--$91.5 million--for 2008.  However, capital losses for 2008 reached $19.6 billion.

Companies such as Allstate Corporation and The Hartford Financial Services have been hit hardest. 

Rating agency A.M. Best has recently issued a report indicating that three insurance companies have become financially impaired thus far in 2009.

A.M. Best considers an insurance company impaired once a state department of insurance has taken its first official regulatory action against the company.

The three carriers considered impaired are:

Rating agency Moody's released a brief that expresses a bit of optimism regarding life and annuity insurance companies:

"Even if markets turn sour again, life insurers and reinsurers are considered to be fit enough to weather the financial and economic crisis because of their solid balance sheets..."

While Moody's indicated that additional ratings downgrades may result if market conditions worsen, their own stress tests indicate that companies should be able to maintain their investment grade ratings.