Guide
Health classes explained
How the rating tiers work—Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard—and what factors might put you in each one.
Insurers assign rate classes that affect your price. While company names differ slightly, the tiers stay similar: Preferred Plus (sometimes Super Preferred or Preferred Best), Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard, plus table ratings for above-standard risk. Tobacco use gets its own higher tier structure.
What underwriters look at
Height and weight proportions, blood pressure, cholesterol, whether close relatives had heart disease or cancer before age 60, driving record, what medications you take, your job and interests, and any tobacco or nicotine use. The top tier wants everything clean; the next allows minor issues; lower tiers accept controlled conditions like well-managed high blood pressure.
How to use the quote tool
Rate yourself truthfully on the health question: Excellent aligns with Preferred Plus, Very good with Preferred, Good with Standard Plus, and Average with Standard. The quotes assume your chosen class, but the carrier confirms it through underwriting. Unsure? Quote two classes and compare; the application will set the real one. Picking too rosy a class won't trick the price—it'll just throw off your estimate.
Susman Insurance Agency can point you toward carriers whose underwriting is more forgiving of particular health situations, which can matter more than the base rate.