A.M. Best
A.M. Best rates insurance companies' financial strength and has done so since 1899.
On the record
Checkpoint: Japan's J-ICS solvency regime takes effect, testing A.M. Best's rating actions on Japanese insurers
The call
A.M. Best sits behind a regulatory wall that neither AI nor the Big Three have breached in three decades, with its data and contract language doing the rest of the work.
A.M. Best is a company that gives letter grades (like A+ or B-) to insurance companies to tell investors and customers how safe they are financially. It is hard to replace because it has government permission to issue these grades that almost nobody else can get, it has stored 125 years of insurance company financial records that competitors do not have, and insurance contracts and laws actually say 'must use A.M. Best rating' by name. The biggest competitors, S&P and Moody's, have tried to take over this business for 30 years without success, and new AI companies cannot legally issue these official ratings no matter how smart they are. One thing that could matter: whether A.M. Best uses AI to do routine paperwork faster and cheaper than it does now, since cost pressure is always a risk even for protected businesses.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. The Big Three have rated insurers alongside A.M. Best for decades without taking its core turf; no share loss visible in 2026. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: S&P Global Ratings, Moody's, Fitch. The Big Three have rated insurers alongside A.M. Best for decades without taking its core turf; no share loss visible in 2026. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. NRSRO regulatory license plus insurer financial data back to 1899 that contracts and treaties name specifically.
What would change this call
NAIC or state regulators formally accept AI-generated ratings as NRSRO equivalents. Would signal regulatory moat weakening and open door to algorithmic competitors.
Confirmation or denial of the CB Insights 'Constellation acquisition' claim about A.M. Best ownership. Would clarify whether Snyder family control, a key stability factor, still holds.
Outcome of Atlantic Coast Life v. A.M. Best litigation (case 3:24-cv-05470). Would show whether legal challenges can materially affect A.M. Best's rating authority.
Confirmation or denial of the CB Insights 'Constellation acquisition' claim about A.M. Best ownership. Would clarify whether Snyder family control, a key stability factor, still holds.
Outcome of Atlantic Coast Life v. A.M. Best litigation (case 3:24-cv-05470). Would show whether legal challenges can materially affect A.M. Best's rating authority.
Key numbers
- Rates over 16,000 insurers in 100+ countries
- Zero rated-insurer impairments in 2025
- ~$238.4M estimated revenue, ~864 employees
Named risks
- Pending litigation over rating actions (Atlantic Coast Life suit, filed April 2024).
- SEC recordkeeping penalty and ongoing NRSRO regulatory scrutiny since September 2024.
- Unverified ownership-change claim (CB Insights 'Constellation' acquisition, March 2022) creates ambiguity.
- No public evidence of AI adoption in core ratings workflow, risking cost-efficiency gap versus faster-moving rivals.
- Leadership transition at A.M. Best Rating Services (late 2024) amid cited regulatory pressure.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| S&P Global Ratings | contesting | Competes in insurance ratings but has not displaced A.M. Best in over 30 years |
| Moody's | contesting | Adjacent Big Three incumbent; no reported insurance mandate wins vs A.M. Best as of 2026-05 |
| Fitch Ratings | contesting | Named direct competitor in insurance ratings per L2 Insurance Agency, 2026-05-12 |
| Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) | contesting | Listed as direct competitor in insurance financial-strength ratings, 2026-05-12 |
| Demotech | contesting | Competes for smaller/regional insurer ratings, per 2026-05-12 comparison |
Questions people ask
- Could AI replace A.M. Best's insurance ratings?
- Unlikely in the near term. A.M. Best holds NRSRO status from the SEC and NAIC plus EU ECAI recognition as of June 2026, licenses no AI model can obtain. AI may automate filing prep or report formatting, but issuing regulated ratings requires the legal designation A.M. Best already holds.
- Who owns A.M. Best?
- A.M. Best is privately held and family-controlled, with Arthur Snyder III serving as Chairman, President and CEO as of May 2026, continuing three generations of Snyder leadership. A CB Insights listing claiming it was acquired by 'Constellation' in March 2022 is unverified and contradicts all primary sources.
- Is A.M. Best profitable?
- As a private company, A.M. Best does not disclose audited financials, so profitability cannot be confirmed from public sources as of mid-2026. It generates revenue via issuer rating fees and subscription products like Best's Insurance Reports and BestESP, with no public revenue figures verified by primary sources.
- Who are A.M. Best's biggest competitors?
- In insurance ratings, A.M. Best competes with S&P Global Ratings, Moody's, Fitch Ratings, Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), and Demotech, as listed by L2 Insurance Agency in May 2026. Despite the Big Three's overall scale, A.M. Best remains the category leader exclusively focused on insurance.
- Was A.M. Best acquired by Constellation?
- This claim, sourced from a CB Insights listing dated March 2022, is unverified and contradicts Wikipedia and A.M. Best's own corporate pages, which confirm continuous Snyder family ownership through at least May 2026. No news report corroborates any change of control.
- Does A.M. Best face regulatory or legal risk in 2026?
- Yes. In September 2024 the SEC charged A.M. Best Rating Services alongside five peer NRSROs with recordkeeping violations as part of a combined $49 million-plus settlement. Separately, Atlantic Coast Life and Sentinel Security Life sued A.M. Best Rating Services over a rating action starting April 2024, with discovery active through mid-2024.
Timeline
- 2026-06-17Published impairment study covering 1977-2025, reporting zero rated-insurer impairments in 2025
- 2026-06-08Regulatory information page confirms active US NRSRO and EU ECAI status
- 2026-05-13Cited as data source in Cowbell cyber claims report showing US cyber premiums fell to $9.14B
- 2024-10-02New president named at A.M. Best Rating Services amid cited regulatory pressure
- 2024-09-03SEC charged A.M. Best Rating Services and five peer NRSROs with recordkeeping violations
- 2024-06-20Active discovery in Atlantic Coast Life Insurance lawsuit over a rating action
- 2024-04Atlantic Coast Life and Sentinel Security Life filed suit against A.M. Best Rating Services
- 2022-03CB Insights listed unverified claim of acquisition by 'Constellation'
Revision history
21 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- AM Best (2026-05-26)
- AM Best author bio
- Revenue, Competitors, Alternatives (2022-04-19)
- Best's Impairment Rate and Rating Transition Study, 1977 to 2025 (2026-06-17)
- Ransom Payments Drop 44% Even as Cyber Claims Surge, Cowbell Reports (2026-05-13)
- AM Best Employee Directory (2026-05-03)
- SignalHire Company Profile
- BestESP
- AM Best Rating Services announces new president (2024-10-02)
- Insurance Rating Services: How A.M. Best, S&P, Moody's, Fitch, and Demotech Differ (2026-05-12)
- How Are Insurance Companies Rated and What it Means (2026-04-30)
- Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company v. A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. (2024-06-20)