Guide
Health classes explained
Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard: what each label means and what bumps you from one to another.
Insurance companies use rate classes to price term policies. The exact names shift between companies, but the steps stay the same: Preferred Plus (sometimes Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard, then surcharges for above-average risk. Tobacco users get their own tier of classes at higher cost.
What underwriters look at
Your weight and height, blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, whether heart disease or cancer ran in your family before anyone turned 60, your driving history, what medications you take, what you do for work and fun, and smoking status. Top class wants good marks on almost everything; Preferred bends a little; Standard Plus and Standard let in managed situations like blood pressure on medication.
How to use the quote tool
On this site, you pick a health level: Excellent lines up with Preferred Plus, Very good with Preferred, Good with Standard Plus and Average with Standard. The quotes match that class; the carrier sets the official class after underwriting. Unsure where you fit? Quote both classes and look at both, then let the underwriting sort it out. Being too rosy about your health will not cut your final rate; it just makes the comparison less true.
Susman Insurance Agency can point you toward carriers whose rules work better for your particular situation, and that choice often beats the advertised price.