Guide
Health classes explained
Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus, Standard, and table ratings: what each name signals and how carriers shift among them.
Carriers place term coverage in health tiers. Names shift slightly by company, but the order is: Preferred Plus (Super Preferred or Preferred Elite at some companies), Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard, then table ratings for above-standard risk. Tobacco users occupy a parallel set of tiers at higher rates.
What underwriters look at
Body metrics (height and weight ratio), blood pressure and cholesterol, parents' and grandparents' heart or cancer history before turning 60, traffic record, medication list, job and hobbies, and tobacco or nicotine in any form. The top tier needs clean marks across almost all of them; the next tier allows a bit more; lower tiers permit controlled conditions such as managed blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
The health question asks you to describe your health honestly: Excellent sits in Preferred Plus, Very good in Preferred, Good in Standard Plus and Average in Standard. Quotes assume that tier; the carrier confirms the final tier post-underwriting. If unsure, run quotes in two tiers and compare them; let the application itself settle it. Overstating your health does not reduce what you owe; it only makes the estimate wrong.
Susman Insurance Agency can identify carriers whose guidelines are more friendly to your specific health situation, which usually shapes the rate more than the headline price.