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While many of my customers are concerned about the cost of life insurance, not everyone realizes the vast differences in individual life insurance companies.

Have you considered the financial strength of the life insurance company you plan to do business with?

What about their customer service?

Or their ability to answer any questions you may have about life insurance and your personal insurance needs?

If you purchased your life insurance policy through an Internet term life insurance quoting machine, or if you didn’t consider all of the factors involved when a life insurance company sets your premium, you may not have the right life insurance policy to meet your needs. But with some planning, you may be able to improve the life insurance policy you already own.

Let me tell you a dirty little secret about most online life insurance quoting websites… These sites want you to think that they can answer your questions such as “What is the average price of life insurance?” or “How much life insurance do I really need?”

In reality, what many of these life insurance websites are doing is simply selling your personal information to the first insurance agent who’ll pay their fee. And that means any agent.

The insurance agent who purchases your contact information may inexperienced or even unaware of all of the factors involved in determining the best life insurance policy and premium for you. And you could be the one to end up paying for that lack of experience and knowledge!

Insurance companies can have as many as eight different rate classes, and an additional ten substandard rate classes, that come into play when new clients approach them for life insurance quotes.

As an insurance adviser, I’ve found that most people who were quoted a life insurance premium from an agent without all of the pertinent facts were misquoted by as much as three to five rate classes. That creates a huge difference in your insurance costs!

That’s why it’s so important that many different factors be taken into consideration when your agent is preparing your life insurance quote. You deserve an insurance agent who will work diligently to meet your life insurance needs. Don’t settle for anything less.

Get started with your free life insurance quote or life insurance review right now, or call me at 630-393-6500.

Typical Health Rate Class Guidelines

Life insurance policy underwriting is custom-tailored to your particular circumstances and the underwriter places you into one of the following categories based on your expected mortality. Use this as a guideline to prepare your term life insurance quote; your final health rate class may differ based on the insurance company’s underwriter.  These guidelines may be different from  each company. If you have any medical conditions that you have questions with regarding your health rate class feel free to call use at 630-393-6500 or email us through the contact us page.

Preferred-Plus Non-tobacco:

Typically for the best risks who meet the Height & weight chart below and these guidelines:

Tobacco Use: No tobacco use in the past 5 years.

Blood Pressure: 140/85 without medication.

Cholesterol: 230 without medication & HDL ratio under 5.0.

Driving Record: No more than 2 moving violations in the past 3 years &
no DUI/reckless driving in past 5 years.

Family history: No parents or siblings diagnosed with heart disease/cancer before age 60 and no history of tobacco use in the past five years.

Citizenship: US Resident for past 3 years (or permanent visa/green card).

Preferred Non-tobacco

Typically for generally health individuals who meet the Height & weight chart below and these guidelines:

Tobacco Use: No tobacco use in the past 3 years (only for preferred non-smoker).

Blood Pressure: 140/85 with medication or 150/90 without medication.

Cholesterol: 250 with or without medication & HDL ratio under 6.0.

Driving Record: No more than 2 moving violations in the past 3 years &
no DUI/reckless driving in past 5 years.

Family history: No parents or siblings died of heart disease/cancer before age 60.

Citizenship: US Resident for past 3 years (or permanent visa/green card).

Standard-Plus Non-tobacco or Regular-Plus

Considered the standard rate for mortality assumptions, this rate is where most individuals are classified. For those who meet the Height & weight chart below and these guidelines:

Tobacco Use: No tobacco use in the past year (only for non-smoker).

Blood Pressure: 150/90 with medication or 155/95 if age 41-60 or 160/95 if age 61 or higher.

Cholesterol: 265 with or without medication and HDL ratio under 6.5.

Driving Record: No more than 3 moving violations in the past 3 years &
no DUI/reckless driving in past 2 years.

Family history: No parents or siblings died of heart disease/cancer before age 60.

Citizenship: US Resident for past 3 years (or permanent visa/green card).

Standard Non-tobacco or Regular

Considered the standard rate for mortality assumptions, this rate is where most individuals are classified. For those who meet the Height & weight chart below and these guidelines:

Tobacco Use: No tobacco use in the past year (only for non-smoker).

Blood Pressure: 150/90 with medication or 155/95 if age 41-60 or 160/95 if age 61 or higher.

Cholesterol: 300 with or without medication and HDL ratio under 8.0.

Driving Record: No more than 3 moving violations in the past 3 years &
no DUI/reckless driving in past 2 years.

Family history: Not applicable.

Citizenship: US Resident for past 3 years (or permanent visa/green card).

Height and Weight

Your build is an important factor in life insurance underwriting. The chart below is an example of the maximum weight for each possible height. First, locate your height and then determine which rate class you fall in based on your weight. Enter the corresponding rate class in the quote form to see how your rate compares from different carriers.