A.M. Best ratings: what they mean for travel insurance, and who underwrites the 12 companies we review
What an A.M. Best rating is
AM Best is a credit rating agency that has rated insurance companies since 1899. Its Financial Strength Rating is an opinion on one question: can this insurer pay the claims it has promised to pay, now and through a bad year. It looks at the insurer’s capital, its reserves, its results and how it manages risk, and it publishes a letter grade. It says nothing about how the company treats customers, how fast it pays or what the policy covers.
| Rating | AM Best’s word for it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A++ and A+ | Superior | Superior ability to meet ongoing insurance obligations |
| A and A- | Excellent | Excellent ability to meet ongoing obligations |
| B++ and B+ | Good | Good ability; the lowest grades AM Best calls secure |
| B and below | Fair, Marginal, Weak, Poor | Vulnerable to adverse conditions; rare for a travel insurance underwriter |
The grade to look for is A- or better. Every insurer behind the 12 companies we review clears it, most by a distance, so the rating is a box to tick rather than a way to choose between them.
The company you buy from is not the insurer
This is the part that confuses people, and the reason a search for a travel insurance company’s rating often comes up empty. Seven Corners, Travel Insured, Trawick, Tin Leg and GoReady are travel insurance companies: they design the plans, sell them, run the assistance line and handle the claims. The policy itself is issued by a licensed insurance company that stands behind the money, and that insurer is the one AM Best rates. Three of the 12 companies we review are underwritten by the same insurer, United States Fire Insurance Company, part of Crum & Forster. The certificate names the underwriter on its first page.
| Company you buy from | Insurer that underwrites the plan | AM Best rating | Last affirmed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allianz Travel Insurance | Jefferson Insurance Company (Allianz SE) | A+ Superior | March 2025 |
| Travel Guard | National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh (AIG) | A Excellent, outlook positive | November 2025 |
| Generali | Generali U.S. Branch (Assicurazioni Generali) | A+ Superior | December 2025 |
| Seven Corners | United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster) | A+ Superior, upgraded from A | August 2025 |
| Travel Insured International | United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster) | A+ Superior | August 2025 |
| TravelSafe | United States Fire Insurance Company (Crum & Forster) | A+ Superior | August 2025 |
| Travelex | Zurich American Insurance Company | A+ Superior | October 2025 |
| Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection | Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance | A++ Superior | Per the insurer, September 2026 |
| Tin Leg | Starr Indemnity & Liability (Gold, Silver); Berkshire Hathaway Specialty (Economy); Spinnaker Insurance Company (some forms) | A Excellent; A++ Superior; A- Excellent | January 2025; September 2026; January 2026 |
| Trawick International (Pathway plans) | Technology Insurance Company (AmTrust group) | A- Excellent | October 2025 |
| GoReady | Zurich American (Choice); United States Fire (Elite); Starr Indemnity (Priority Plus) | A+ Superior; A+ Superior; A Excellent | 2025 |
| American Express Travel Insurance | AMEX Assurance Company | A Excellent | October 2025 |
Allianz, Travel Guard, American Express and TravelSafe are not sold on the CoverTrip comparison; their underwriters are listed for completeness.
How to read the table
Every underwriter on it is rated A- or better, and seven of the twelve rows are A+ or A++ throughout. The upgrade worth noticing is Crum & Forster, which moved from A to A+ in August 2025 and carries Seven Corners, Travel Insured and TravelSafe with it. AIG’s rating is A with a positive outlook, meaning AM Best is considering an upgrade. Spinnaker at A- is the lowest grade on the table and still Excellent.
Ratings are reviewed at least annually and can move. The dates are the most recent affirmations we found in AM Best’s press releases and the insurers’ own statements as of September 2026; check the rating center before relying on one for a large purchase.
See every plan priced for your trip
Enter your trip once and every top plan comes back side by side, priced for your dates. Same price as buying direct.
See plans & pricesAbout 60 seconds. Nothing to sign up for.What the rating does not tell you
Whether the plan covers your reason for cancelling, how much medical coverage it carries, whether the pre-existing condition waiver applies to you, and how the company handles a claim. Those are the questions that decide whether you get paid, and they are answered by the plan document and the company’s record, not by a letter. Our company reviews cover the plans and the claims handling for each of the 12, and the claims guide explains how a claim actually moves.
The other names you will see
Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch also rate large insurers, and Zurich, Allianz, Generali, AIG and Berkshire Hathaway carry ratings from them too. For a travel insurance purchase, AM Best is enough: it rates every insurer on the table, including the smaller specialty carriers the others do not follow, and its scale is the one the industry uses.
Questions people also ask
Is A- good enough?
Yes. A- is Excellent on AM Best’s scale and well inside the range it calls secure. The difference between A- and A++ is a difference between very strong and strongest balance sheets, not between safe and unsafe. No travel insurance underwriter on our comparison sits below A-.
Why does Tin Leg have three ratings?
Because it is a brand, not an insurer. Tin Leg plans are underwritten by different insurers depending on the plan and the state: Starr for Gold and Silver, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty for Economy, Spinnaker on some forms. The same is true of GoReady. The certificate names the underwriter for the plan you are buying.
Does a higher rating mean claims get paid faster or more often?
No. The rating measures whether the insurer can pay, not whether it will, or how quickly. How a company handles claims is a separate question, answered by its claims record and by the plan wording. Our company reviews cover both.
Where do I check a rating myself?
AM Best’s rating center at ambest.com is free to search by company name. Search the underwriter, not the brand: Seven Corners will not appear, United States Fire Insurance Company will. Ratings are reviewed at least once a year, and the affirmation date on the table is the last review we found.
Related answers: the 12 company reviews · Do I need travel insurance? · claims guide
Sources: the 54 plan documents in the CoverTrip policy library, September 2026; AM Best press releases and rating disclosures, January 2025 to January 2026; insurer statements; plan certificates.
See every plan priced for your trip
Enter your trip once and every top plan comes back side by side, priced for your dates. Same price as buying direct.
See plans & pricesAbout 60 seconds. Nothing to sign up for.Related
Damian TysdalDamian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip and a licensed travel insurance agent since 2006. He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006. About CoverTrip.