Guide
Health classes explained
Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard rates explained and what factors determine your assigned class.
Term insurance pricing depends on underwriting class. Terminology shifts between carriers, but the structure stays steady: Preferred Plus (sometimes labeled Super Preferred or Elite Preferred), Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard, plus surcharge ratings for atypical risk. Tobacco users occupy a separate rating tier with elevated premiums.
What underwriters look at
Height-to-weight ratio, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, family background of early heart disease or cancer, traffic violations, medicines you take, your job and pastimes, and any tobacco or nicotine. The top tier requires healthy marks across the board; Preferred allows some minor gaps; Standard Plus and Standard accept regulated conditions like managed hypertension.
How to use the quote tool
The health question invites you to rate yourself truthfully: Excellent aligns with Preferred Plus, Very good with Preferred, Good with Standard Plus and Average with Standard. Quotes are built on that class; the carrier's underwriting determines your final rating. When uncertain, obtain quotes for two classes to compare, then allow the application process to establish the true class. Inflating your health assessment will not lower your ultimate premium; it simply clouds the accuracy of the initial quote.
Susman Insurance Agency can guide you toward carriers with lenient underwriting criteria for your particular health profile, a factor that often outweighs published rates.