Life insurance companies are supposed to be boring. They’re supposed to write predictable products backed by predictable assets that, over the long run, produce predictable returns to policyholders and/or shareholders. Financial strength, then, should be somewhat predictable. Ratings agencies and firms like ALIRT provide excellent snapshot insight into the momentary financial condition of a company. And, if things are really predictable, then momentary snapshots are the best indicator of the health of the company going forward.