"Underwriting Life Insurance"

This chart is a general representation of the requirements that need to be met for each health class. Each insurance company has their own particular requirements that may differ from the generalizations presented below.

Medical Guidelines Determine Your Health Class*
Underwriting Criteria	Preferred Plus	Preferred	Regular / Regular Plus / Standard
Health & Medical History and Physical/Mental Impairments	No health impairments allowed. No personal history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes.	No health impairments allowed. No personal history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes.	Some health impairments allowed. Can have personal history of certain cardiovascular diseases or diabetes.
Blood Pressure	No current or past history of blood pressure treatment. Current and average readings in the past two years not greater than 140/85.	Currently well controlled with current and average readings in the past two years not greater than: 150/90	Currently well controlled with current and average readings in the past two years not greater than: 150/90 - age 45 and younger, 154/93 - ages 45-60, 158/95 - ages 61 and over.
Family Medical History	No cardiovascular disease or cancer in either parent or siblings before age 60.	No cardiovascular death of either parent before age 60.	No cardiovascular death of not more than one parent before age 60.
Personal Driving History	Not available if 2 or 3 or more moving violations in last 3 years, or if any DUI in last 24 to 60 months.	Not available if 3 or more moving violations in the last 3 years except with flat extra, or if any DUI in last 60 months.	No more than 2 moving violations in the past 3 years. No record of DUI or reckless driving in the past 2 years.
Use of Tobacco or Tobacco Products	No tobacco use in the past 36 months.	No tobacco use in the last 12 months.	No tobacco use in the last 12 months.
History of Cancer	Depending on company, only available on certain types of skin cancer.	Only available on certain types of skin cancer.	Available depending on type and duration of cancer.
Cholesterol Readings	Levels may not exceed 240 (or less, depending on company).	Levels may not exceed 250 (or less, depending on company).	Levels may not exceed 280 (or less, depending on company).
CHOL/HDL Ratio	May not exceed 5.0. (or less, with some companies)	May not exceed 6.5.	May not exceed 7.5.
Substance or Alcohol Abuse	No history of substance or alcohol abuse.	No abuse in past 10 years.	No abuse in past 7 years.
Aviation	Commercial airline pilots accepted, usually. Private pilots - may qualify with aviation exclusion.	Commercial airline pilots accepted. Private pilots- flat extra may apply depending on experience.	Commercial airline pilots accepted. Private pilots- flat extra may apply depending on experience.
Hazardous Activities (i.e. Skydiving, Hang gliding, Rock climbing, Scuba diving etc)	Available only if no flat extra premium would be required.	Available; however, may have flat extra.	Available; however, may have flat extra.
Residency-Citizenship	Must be a US resident for past 3 years and either a US citizen or have permanent Visa or Green card.	Must be a US resident for past 3 years and either a US citizen or have permanent Visa or Green card.	Must be a US resident for past 2 years and either a US citizen or have permanent Visa or Green card.
Important: Your health classification will ultimately be determined by the underwriting insurance company. If you are ever not satisfied with the classification a carrier assigns to you, our insurance professionals will be happy to shop your profile around to other carriers. Remember, actual underwriting requirements will vary slightly from company to company. Important: Life Insurance companies also factor in height & weight when underwriting a policy. Important: note to visitors: Other quotation services will quote ALL their potential customers at the Preferred Plus classification in order to present the lowest possible premiums. The problem with this practice is that most individuals (about 75-90%) do not qualify for this classification and are not made aware of this until they are presented with higher rates after waiting through several weeks to months of the underwriting phase. Don't let this happen to you. Our company present the lowest priced, more realistic premium quotes to you upon your initial visit.