What Does It Mean To Be Rated For Life Insurance? 
Being rated for life insurance means that your life insurance will have `` table ratings '' added onto it due to one or more risk factors in your life -LRB- a moderately serious health condition or fairly recent alcohol treatment are two examples of ratable risk factors -RRB- . Each table rating usually adds 25 % of the Standard premium back onto the Standard premium . E.g. . If the Standard premium is $ 1000 per year , a policy rated Table 2 would cost $ 1,500 per year , or 150 % of Standard . This is a very loose explanation , not taking into account policy fees and the fact that some companies charge a different % for their table ratings , or add the % on a rating other than Standard . These variations can cause a wide range of prices among policies of the same table rating , and why it is especially important to shop among several carriers when you have a ratable condition . Most companies end table ratings at table 8 for Term life insurance . Sometimes a person who is unable to get Term can get Permanent insurance , as some permanent policies will allow more risk . 