• AAA: ‘AAA’ rated insurers have the strongest financial strength and strongest capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. Unfavorable business and economic conditions are unlikely to distress this ability.
   
• AA: ‘AA’ rated insurers have very strong financial strength and a very strong capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. No material change in this capacity is expected due to hostile business and economic conditions in future.
   
• A: ‘A’ rated insurers have strong financial strength and a strong capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. A negative change in business and economic conditions may slightly affect the honoring capacity.
   
• BBB: ‘BBB’ rated insurers have adequate financial strength and sufficient capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. However, hostile business conditions can bring a change in this capability.
   
• BB: ‘BB’ rated insurers have marginal financial strength and a low capacity to meet policyholder and contract obligations. The entity remains vulnerable to changes in the business and economic environment.
   
• B: ‘B’ rated insurers have weak financial strength and a weak ability to meet policyholder and contract obligations. The entity requires favorable business conditions to ensure payments.
   
• CCC: ‘CCC’ rated insurers have very weak financial strength and a very weak capability to meet policyholder and contract obligations. The firm is unable to benefit from prospective improvement in the economic environment.
   
• CC: ‘CC’ rated insurers have extremely weak financial strength and the weakest capacity of meeting policyholder and contract obligations.
   
• D: ‘D’ rated insurers are in default with respect to its policyholder and contract obligations.

Note: IIRA appends modifiers + or - to each generic rating classification from AA through CCC. The modifier + indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; no modifier indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier - indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.

The obligations rated BBB and above are considered investment grade while obligations rated BB+ and below are of speculative grade.