Guide
Health classes explained
The four main underwriting tiers—Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard—what distinguishes them, and how you move from one to another.
Insurance companies group term life buyers into rate classes. The specific names shift a little between carriers, but the ranking is: Preferred Plus (sometimes Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard, then extra charges for cases with higher risk. People using tobacco get their own separate class arrangement at a higher cost.
What underwriters look at
Height-to-weight ratio, blood pressure and cholesterol readings, whether heart disease or cancer ran in your family before anyone turned 60, your driving record, what you're taking for prescriptions, what you do for work and hobbies, and your use of cigarettes or nicotine products. The top tier wants good news across almost everything; the next tier down allows a bit more wiggle room; the lower tiers accept managed conditions like well-controlled high blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
Your health answer maps straight to a rate class: Excellent aligns with Preferred Plus, Very good with Preferred, Good with Standard Plus and Average with Standard. The quotes reflect that choice, and the insurance company locks in the actual class after underwriting. Uncertain about how to describe yourself? Pull quotes for two classes to compare the difference, then let the application determine your real placement. An overly generous self-assessment won't help your price—it just makes the estimate less accurate.
Susman Insurance Agency knows which carriers have a track record of approving people with specific conditions, which often counts more than the advertised rate.