Guide
Health classes explained
What Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard mean, and which health factors move you from one to another.
Term life gets priced into rate classes. Terminology shifts between firms, but the tiers stay consistent: Preferred Plus (sometimes Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard, then adjustments upward for higher risk. Tobacco customers have their own parallel tiers at bigger monthly costs.
What underwriters look at
Weight and height, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, family disease history (heart disease or cancer under 60), traffic record, medication list, job category, pastimes, and tobacco or nicotine products. The top class needs near-perfect scores on all; Preferred accepts minor variations; Standard Plus and Standard accommodate managed issues like treated high blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
Be truthful on the health question: Excellent aligns with Preferred Plus, Very good with Preferred, Good with Standard Plus, and Average with Standard. The quote reflects your chosen class; the carrier verifies it during underwriting. Unsure? Run quotes at both tiers and compare, letting the application settle it. Overstating health won't reduce the final cost—it just makes the estimate wrong.
Susman Insurance Agency specializes in matching people to carriers that rate their specific situation favorably, which usually matters more than shopping just on price.