Guide
Health classes explained
Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus, Standard: what these tier names mean and which factors shift you between them.
Carriers set term life pricing based on rate class. The exact class name shifts slightly from one company to the next, but the ladder holds steady: Preferred Plus (sometimes called Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard, plus further adjustments for higher-than-standard hazard. Tobacco users are placed in a separate tier with higher rates.
What underwriters look at
Height and weight relative to each other, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, family history (heart disease or cancer before age 60), traffic and driving record, medications you take, what you do for work and leisure, and any tobacco or nicotine use in the past year. Top-tier classes need nearly everything to be clean; Preferred permits some variation; Standard Plus and Standard permit well-managed conditions like medicated hypertension.
How to use the quote tool
The health question asks you to assess your status honestly: Excellent aligns with Preferred Plus; Very good with Preferred; Good with Standard Plus; and Average with Standard. Quotes will reflect that category; the actual class emerges after underwriting. When in doubt, run quotes under two different categories and weigh them both—your application will settle the real one. Claiming a rosier health picture doesn't cut the final cost; it just makes the estimate less dependable.
Susman Insurance Agency can help you find carriers whose underwriting is more forgiving toward a particular health situation—and that choice often matters more than the advertised rate.