Are You Better Than a Standard Life Insurance Rate Class?

If you’re in the process of shopping for life insurance, then you may be wondering how your health will ultimately affect the amount of premium you will pay for your coverage.

So that being said you need to know if you are in good enough health to qualify for a better than standard life insurance rate class.

If you don’t know what a rate class is you should start here.

What is a rate class?

Because life expectancy plays a big role in how much risk you may present to an insurer, life insurance companies consider both age and health to be top parameters when determining whether or not to accept an applicant for coverage – as well as in how much to charge.

In general, the healthiest people who also live the safest lifestyles (i.e., those who don’t take part in risky activities like rock climbing or sky diving, as well as those who don’t smoke) are typically placed in rate categories that qualify them for the lowest premiums.

Life Insurance Rate Class

Even though all life insurance carriers to not use an identical set of underwriting guidelines, the top companies will have several similar primary rate classes. These will typically go in order, starting with those who are in the very best health.

	Preferred Plus Non-Tobacco	Preferred Non-Tobacco	Standard Plus Non-Tobacco	Preferred Tobacco
Tobacco Use	No Use In Five Years	No Use In Three Years	No Use In Two Years	Used or has used in Last Year
Blood Pressure	Up To 130/80	Up To 140/85	Up To 140/90	Up To 140/85
Total Cholesterol	Up To 250	Up To 250	Up To 300	Up To 250
Cholesterol Ratio	Up To 4.5	Up To 5.0	Up To 5.5	Up To 5.0
A1C Readings	Below 4.5	Below 5	Below 6	Below 5.0
Driving History	No DUI in last 5 Years	No DUI in last 3 Years	No DUI in last 2 Years	No DUI in last 3 Years
Substance Abuse/Alcohol History	No Abuse	No Abuse in last 10 Years	No Abuse in last 7 Years	No Abuse in last 10 Years
Family History	No death of a Parent before age 60 due to cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), cancer, diabetes or kidney disease	No death of a Parent before age 70 due to cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), cancer, diabetes or kidney disease	No death of a Parent before age 70 due to cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), cancer, diabetes or kidney disease	No death of a Parent before age 70 due to cardiovascular disease (heart attacks and strokes), cancer, diabetes or kidney disease
Health History	No Diabetes, Stroke, Cancers, Cardiovascular Disease, Alcohol or Drug Abuse	No Diabetes, Stroke, Cancers, Cardiovascular Disease	No Diabetes, Stroke, Cancers, Cardiovascular Disease	No Diabetes, Stroke, Cancers, Cardiovascular Disease
Hieght & Weight	See Chart Here	See Chart Here	See Chart Here	See Chart Here

What If You’re in Average or Below Average Health

Most people who are considered to be in average health will typically be placed in an insurance company’s standard rate category. This usually means that, based on your age and health condition at the time you apply for coverage, you have a normal life expectancy.

Table Ratings

For those who have certain health issues that could deem them below standard, life insurance companies usually have “table ratings.”

This means that an additional amount of premium will be added to your policy in order to help the insurance company compensate for the added amount of risk it is taking on.

In many cases, each “table” is assigned a number or a letter by the insurance company whereby each number or letter represents an additional percentage of premium to be added on.

For example, if you had a health condition that deemed you a Table 3 rating, then the insurance company would tack on an additional 75% to your policy’s premium (25% x 3 = 75%).

Table rates add 25%, per table, above the standard rate.

Below is an example of a standard rate with a premium of $100. This hypothetical shows how a table rating would add extra costs to the final price and rate a life insurance company offers.

Standard Rate

Table 1 or A

Table 2 or B

Table 3 or C

Table 4 or D

Table 5 or E

Table 6 or F

Table 7 or G

Flat Extra

There may also be cases where an insurance company will add on an extra charge to your premium temporarily. This charge is typically referred to as a flat extra.

If, for instance, someone is a cancer survivor, the insurance company may add on an additional $5 or $10 per $1,000 in coverage for the first five years that he or she owns the policy. Once that time period has elapsed, the flat extra charge will drop off.

Do You Qualify for Preferred Life Insurance Rates?

Even if you aren’t the picture of perfect health, you could still qualify for reasonable life insurance rates. But the only way to find out for sure is to obtain a quote.

At Insurance Geek, we work with more than 30 life insurance carriers, so we can provide you with multiple quotes from many top-rated insurers. From there, you can determine which policy and price best fit your needs and your budget.

Insurance Geek focuses only on insurance so that you don’t have to! Contact Us today to find out how you can lock in financial protection for those you love.