This advice applies both to consumers who have already bought their policies as well as to those looking to buy. It is important to recognize that the advice being offered here is not definitive. It all boils down to the choices you, as the consumer, decide you can live with. So please read everything carefully, think about the implications and then choose a course of action that you feel comfortable with. Ratings One way to get a picture of a company's financial stability is to look at the ratings.
Ratings agencies are outside companies that give an opinion on a company's financial strength.
They provide this service for a fee that is paid for by the company who wants the rating. For insurance companies, the type of rating a consumer should look at is the claims paying ability . This is an opinion of the company's ability to meet its future obligations to policyholders. This opinion is usually arrived at after a ratings agency has done both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of a company. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies in Canada subscribe to the services of ratings companies.