Herb Greenberg
Senior Columnist
7/27/00 4:05 PM ET
Conseco capers: This is just too good to pass up. On June 15, A.M. Best, which rates insurance companies, downgraded the ratings on Conseco's (CNC:NYSE) 14 life and health insurance subsidiaries (which represent around 30% of the company's insurance biz) to B++ (or very good) from A- (which is considered excellent). From excellent to very good? Nothing to worry about, right? Not according to the Long Term Care Insurance National Advisory Council, a private consortium of insurance agents, which tells consumers under the "how-to-rank" part of its Web site that the company's A.M. Best rating "must be A- or above. Accept no B+ or lower ratings unless you have health conditions which prevent coverage with a higher rated company." Conseco, however, has failed to spread the word about the ratings change. Under "stability" in the "frequently asked questions" section regarding long-term care on its own Web site, the company says: "The Conseco subsidiaries selling long-term care coverage have been rated "A" by A.M. Best Company, the third highest of 15 ratings assigned by Best." (Never mind that it wasn't even "A"; it was A minus!) The company -- which thanked me for pointing it out -- said the old rating was an "oversight" by the site's editors. And maybe it was, but that doesn't explain why several long-term care insurance agents that my sidekick Mark Martinez, myself and my sources checked with still said Conseco was rated A-. And a few of those who did say it's rated lower still referred to it as "a fine company" that has gone through financial trouble that is now behind them and is nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about?! The longer-term the insurance, the more important the rating! ... |
