How do Life Insurance Rating Classifications Work?

What is the Difference Between Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus, and Standard?

Life insurance rating classifications are categories insurers use to assess risk and determine premiums. Applicants are typically assigned a classification such as Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard, or Table Rated based on factors including health history, tobacco use, family medical history, driving record, and medical exam results. Better rating classes generally qualify for lower life insurance premiums.

Each insurance company is somewhat different. They differ in their classifications’ names and the requirements to qualify for a rating class. The classifications also vary between term life insurance and whole life plans, especially in the extra rating categories. Much of the content of these definitions comes directly from major life insurance company rating guides. The following can give you some guidelines.

In the next category, commonly called preferred, the requirements become somewhat more liberal such as:

• No more than one death of a sibling or parent before age 60
• No tobacco use for three or five years (depending on the company). Some may allow mild cigar or chewing tobacco use at
  this rating class.
• The height-weight ratio is liberalized
• The total cholesterol limit is liberalized to up to 230 or 240
• The other health history areas are still in place

What does Table Rating or Extra Rate Mean?

Table rating in life insurance is a way for insurance companies to determine the cost of life insurance for people who have a higher risk due to their health, lifestyle, or other factors. These people might not fit into the standard categories like Preferred or Standard, so they are given a “table rating” instead.

A table rating is like a grading system, where each level of the table represents a higher risk and a higher cost for life insurance. The table usually uses letters (A, B, C, etc.) or numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) to show the different levels. For example, someone with a table rating of “A” or “1” would have a slightly higher risk and pay a little more for their insurance, while someone with a table rating of “E” or “5” would have a much higher risk and pay a lot more for their insurance.

For example, a table rating of 1 will generally add 25% to the standard rate, whereas a table rating of 5 will add 125% to the standard rate.

The specific table rating system and the factors that determine a person’s rating can be different between insurance companies. That’s why it’s important to compare prices from different companies before choosing a life insurance policy, especially if you have a higher risk due to health issues or other factors.

Here’s where shopping with a good insurance agency with multiple companies becomes imperative. When you get below standard rates because of medical history or other histories, you might be offered what is called a Table Rating. These are policies that are higher risk for the insurance company. Rated policies are rated according to a table, and the extra premium is sometimes called a “Table rating.”

Extra tables go from 1 to 16 (or higher). Not every company goes to 16. Some companies will only rate term life insurance a certain amount and then, above that, decline to offer insurance. Some life insurance companies use an equivalent letter system, as in Table B (equivalent to Table 2) or Table F (Table 6). Each table is a 25% increase in the term insurance rate, so Table 2 would be 50% more than the Standard rate, Table 4 would be 100% higher, etc.

Finally, table ratings for whole life insurance are not quite as drastic. Since these policies are a combination of cash and risk, only the cost of the risk is affected by the extra rating, so the additional premium for the policy does not rise at even 25% per table as in term life insurance.