Guide
Health classes explained
What the four main rate-class tiers mean and which factors shift you between them.
Insurance companies use rate classes to price term policies. Though names differ slightly between carriers, the ranking stays the same: Preferred Plus (or Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus, Standard, and table ratings for higher risk. Smokers and nicotine users are placed in separate classes that cost more.
What underwriters look at
Your weight and height ratio, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, family medical history (especially early heart disease or cancer), driving record, any current medications, your job and pastimes, and tobacco or nicotine in any form. Preferred Plus needs squeaky-clean results; Preferred allows minor deviations; Standard Plus and Standard permit managed conditions such as well-controlled high blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
When the health question asks how you are, respond truthfully: Excellent lines up with Preferred Plus, Very good with Preferred, Good with Standard Plus, and Average with Standard. The quotes assume your chosen class; the carrier's underwriting determines the real class. Unsure? Quote yourself in two classes and see the difference—then let the application's underwriting decide. Overstating your health does not cut the final premium; it just makes the early quote less accurate.
Susman Insurance Agency can connect you with carriers whose rules work well for your particular health history, since some carriers' underwriting is much more favorable even if their rates look different.