Guide
Health classes explained
Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard: what they indicate and the criteria that move you up or down the scale.
Carriers set term life pricing by rate class. Names shift slightly across companies but the order stays consistent: Preferred Plus (also Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard, then table ratings for higher risk. Tobacco buyers face a parallel set at higher costs.
What underwriters look at
Build (height and weight), blood pressure and cholesterol, family history of heart disease or cancer before age 60, driving record, prescriptions, job and pastimes, and tobacco or nicotine consumption. Preferred Plus demands clean results in almost all; Preferred allows some variance; Standard Plus and Standard permit controlled problems like treated high blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
You describe your health faithfully: Excellent aligns with Preferred Plus, Very good with Preferred, Good with Standard Plus and Average with Standard. Your quote reflects that class; underwriting confirms the final tier afterward. Uncertain? Quote two classes and look at the spread—the carrier's underwriting call is the final one. Picking a rosier class won't reduce your premium; it only clouds the quote.
Susman Insurance Agency can guide you toward carriers whose underwriting rules suit your particulars, which matters as much as the headline number.