Life insurance companies are rated by a number of different independent rating agencies.  

Therefore, which life insurance companies are top rated will depend on which rating system you choose to use when comparing financial strength of life insurance carriers.

Here are the leading financial rating institutions for insurance companies:

A.M. Best Company
Weiss
Moody's
Fitch
Standard & Poor's

It may make sense to use multiple rating systems to measure the insurance companies you are i...