Guide
Health classes explained
Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard tell you where you fall, and what decides whether you move up or down.
Insurers set prices for term life using rate tiers. The specific words shift slightly from company to company, but they follow a standard pattern: Preferred Plus (sometimes Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard, then extra fees for applicants above standard risk. People who smoke or use nicotine get their own set of categories with bigger rates.
What underwriters look at
Height and weight in relation to each other, readings for blood pressure and cholesterol, whether heart disease or cancer runs in your family before age 60, your traffic record, what medicines you take, what you do for work and hobbies, and tobacco or nicotine use. Reaching the best class needs good results in almost everything; Preferred allows some flexibility; Standard Plus and Standard permit managed disorders like controlled blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
The health question asks for your honest self-assessment: Excellent corresponds to Preferred Plus, Very good to Preferred, Good to Standard Plus, and Average to Standard. Your quotes mirror that tier; the carrier verifies your actual tier during underwriting. If you're unsure, get quotes for two different tiers and compare them, and let the application clarify the actual one. Putting yourself in a higher tier doesn't reduce your eventual premium—it just makes your estimate less useful.
Susman Insurance Agency helps you find carriers with rules that work better for your situation, which frequently matters more than what the headline rate says.