Guide
Health classes explained
Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard: what each designation means and what determines which one you fall into.
Term carriers use rate categories to price their policies. Although terminology shifts from company to company, the structure stays similar: Preferred Plus (sometimes called Super Preferred or Best Preferred), Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard, followed by special ratings for higher-risk cases. Smokers get their own tier structure at elevated rates.
What underwriters look at
Height and weight proportions, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, any family history of heart attack or cancer before sixty, your driving record, what medications you take, your line of work and hobbies, and your nicotine habits. To qualify for the best class you need clean results in virtually everything; Preferred allows a bit more variation; Standard Plus and Standard permit managed medical conditions such as medicated high blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
You'll describe your health on the form as either: Excellent, which corresponds to Preferred Plus; Very good for Preferred; Good for Standard Plus; and Fair for Standard. Your quoted rates match your stated category; the actual category comes from the carrier after underwriting. Uncertain about your category? Quote two different ones and see the variations, then let the underwriting process decide. An inflated self-assessment won't reduce what you actually pay; it only reduces the accuracy of the quote.
Susman Insurance Agency assists you in identifying carriers with underwriting standards that align with your particular health situation—this typically matters more than looking only at listed rates.