Health Classes – Risk Classifications – Underwriting Guidelines

Which underwriting class you are approved for, will ultimately affect how much you will pay for your life insurance policy.  

Let’s make it simple to understand.  

Most life insurance companies have a total of 12 underwriting classes.  

Class #1 has the best price and #12 has the most expensive.  

In other words— as the underwriting class increases, so does your “out of pocket” cost.  

NOTE:  Unfortunately, not all life insurance companies call their underwriting classes by the same name.  

For example, Class #1 could be called Preferred Plus, Preferred Elite, Preferred Best, Super Elite, etc.  

This often can make it difficult to compare companies and can be confusing to understand.   

Using  #1 – #12 gives you a better perspective.  

Here an example of how the price increases as the underwriting class increases.

$500,000 – 20 Year Term Life Policy – Male Age 45

Class #1 = $45.47/month

Class #2 = $54.14/month

Class #3 = $73.46/month

Class #4 = $86.45/month

Class #5 = $107.69/month

Class #6 = $124.56/month

etc……

What determines which underwriting class you will be approved for?

• Your current and past health history
• Your height and weight
• Any outside 3rd party database like the prescription drug database, credit checks, criminal background check, and motor vehicle reports.
• Your family history – if natural parents or siblings had cancer or heart disease at age 60 or before.
• Your medical file from your primary doctor or any specialists that you see. This is called the APS or attending physician statement.  
• Your hobbies – pilots, scuba, motor racing, etc.  

Insider Fact — An agent or broker can tell you the cost of every underwriting class.  However, they cannot tell you which class you will be “approved at”, until you have been underwritten by the life insurance company and have an offer in writing. 

We’re here to help you make an informed decision.

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