The Pains Of Being Overweight When It Comes To Life Insurance
There are a variety of factors that can raise the cost of your life insurance. Some factors, such as age and medical history, cannot be helped, but other factors, such as being overweight, can. Excessive weight is one of the leading causes of high life insurance premiums. If your weight becomes classified as obese, you’ll likely have a hard time finding affordable life insurance.
If you weigh in at 10 pounds or less over your ideal weight, your life insurances rates won’t be affected. But if your weight makes you “obese”, you can expect an uphill battle in searching for easy, affordable life insurance, particularly if you suffer from medical conditions—such as diabetes and high blood pressure—that are commonly associated with obesity.
So, how do you know if you’re obese? Insurance companies determine obesity by using a person’s height and weight to determine their Body Mass Index (BMI). Basically, an overweight or obese person is judged to be carrying too much body fat for his or her height. If your BMI falls between 25 and 29.9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider you overweight. And if your BMI is 30 or higher, the CDC considers you obese.
The biggest reason why obesity complicates life insurance, even in young people with a clean medical history, is its stature as a catalyst for a variety of negative health conditions. According to the CDC, obesity commonly leads to the following conditions, among others: Hypertension (high blood pressure), Dyslipidemia (high chosesterol), Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, certain cancers and respiratory problems.
Even so, each life insurance company has its own underwriting system, meaning that each company takes a different view of obesity. With most companies, you can still get optimal preferred rates—also know as Preferred Plus—even if you have a BMI of between 26 and 28. But having a BMI above 28 will probably mean that Preferred rates, as opposed to Preferred Plus, are the best that you can do. At Preferred rates, you can expect to pay premiums that are 15 to 35 percent higher than Preferred Plus premiums. But if your BMI is higher than 30, you typically have to pay Standard Plus rates, which can exceed Preferred rates by as much as 40 percent.
What if your BMI is between 35 and 40? In that case, you can expected to be placed in the Standard rate class, where the premiums are as much as 25 percent higher than Standard Plus rates.
Whatever your BMI, it’s important to remember that you’re not automatically confined to a certain rate class. As noted earlier, different insurance companies have different classification guidelines. Thus, it’s essential to consult more than one or two insurance companies before making your final decision. And even if you continue to find that your BMI keeps you from receiving rates that you can afford, you still have options. For example, you could request a lower death benefit in order to lower your premiums.
You can determine you BMI by going to the CDC’s website and using their online BMI calculator. But try not to let a high BMI make life insurance seem out of reach. If you continue to have trouble securing affordable coverage, consider contacting an insurance broker who specializes in finding life insurance policies for applicants with pre-existing medical conditions.
Being Obese can mean that you’ll end up paying higher life insurance premiums than non-obese applicants. There are, however, some ways to secure affordable premiums while being obese, especially since each insurance company views BMI differently. For the best life insurance quotes available, visit Insure.com.
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