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The Surprising Truth About Buying Life Insurance if You’re Overweight.
Did you know that about 75% of people buying life insurance policies are considered overweight for underwriting purposes? The life insurance underwriting process is already stressful, and there is an added layer of concern for the three-quarters of applicants who could end up paying more because of their individual body mass index (BMI). Learn more about managing your Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity here.
Life Insurance for Overweight People.
Excess or high BMI is one of the most common medical conditions that can increase the cost of your life insurance premiums. And since your policy’s premiums are typically fixed and unchangeable for the duration of your policy, it’s important to get it right from the beginning. Remember, if you lose weight a year after you buy life insurance, you still pay the overweight premiums! So it’s best to buy a life insurance policy that doesn’t charge you a lot more for being overweight or having a high BMI.
Overweight? You Shouldn’t Have to Overpay.
The world of life insurance underwriting and life insurance premiums is an always-changing environment, and on any given day, different insurance companies will offer better pricing for higher BMIs and weight issues. At PolicyConnection, our proprietary UnderRightTM smart database tracks dozens of the top life insurance companies and knows who will offer you the lowest premiums for your individual weight and build characteristics which vary from person to person.
Our smart database is constantly updating based on changing underwriting policies as well as learning from the real-world outcomes of actual life insurance applications around the country.
of Life Insurance Applicants are considered overweight.
Get the Facts & Go Direct
In today’s digital economy it pays to be an informed consumer. And rarely is this more important than with life insurance premiums since typically those costs are permanently set at the beginning of your policy based on your health conditions at that time. And with approximately 75% of applicants being considered overweight by life insurance underwriters, our knowledge becomes your power.
Become a Smarter Life Insurance Buyer.
Many life insurance brokers will offer their customers access to multiple companies. But no one else can offer access to the UnderRightTM smart database and the purchasing confidence it offers you and your loved ones. When you’re ready with the best pricing, we let you apply direct with the company to save you the time and hassle of working through a middleman. You save time and money, and our customer service team is there to help you if ever needed.
Understanding the Rating Categories
Preferred Plus: People in excellent health with no history of medical issues. If you’re over the ideal weight for your height by more than a few pounds, you’re unlikely to receive this rating.
Preferred Plus:
People in excellent health with no history of medical issues. If you’re over the ideal weight for your height by more than a few pounds, you’re unlikely to receive this rating.
Preferred:
If you have had a minor medical issue or have a family history of moderate conditions, but are otherwise in great health, you’ll likely qualify for a Preferred rating. There’s often a Preferred category for smokers that would otherwise qualify for the best rates except for their tobacco usage.
Standard Plus:
Typically includes those in good health but that have a negative family history or a single condition that exempts them from qualifying for a Preferred rating.
Standard:
People of average health that may have a couple of common but manageable issues, like high cholesterol or blood pressure. There’s also a Standard rating for smokers. If you’re quite overweight, and particularly if you’re obese, you’ll likely receive a Standard rating.
Table Ratings:
High-risk applicants. Unless you have a very high BMI, it’s unlikely you’d receive a table rating for life insurance based upon your weight alone.
Comparing Underwriting Offers by Applicant
What Else Affects My Insurance
Premium Cost if I’m Overweight?
Each company makes a call on each application. Sometimes this is driven by a formula, and in other cases an individual underwriter will need to review all the factors together and make an informed decision about what rating class to offer for that particular policy. In either case, business factors play a role in how the company is treating different conditions in their underwriting. But it’s important to know how other health factors play into the overall decision and, in addition to being overweight, can affect your life insurance premium. These are what doctors and underwriters call ‘comorbidities’ meaning they are health risks that can coexist with each other and that, when combined together, increase your overall risk of severe illness and death.
If you’re overweight, some of the main comorbidity factors to look out for are:
• Heart disease
• History of Stroke
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure • Sleep apnea
• Osteoarthritis
• Diabetes
• Liver disease
• Kidney disease
If you have any of these health conditions in addition to being overweight, insurance companies are going to scrutinize your application and you are much more likely to pay more in premiums or even be declined for coverage. Our UnderRightTM smart database will match you to the insurance company that offers the best underwriting decisions for YOUR specific health situation.
Should I Lie About My Weight and/or Health History?
These days many insurance companies don’t have you undergo a medical exam for policies under a certain amount, in some cases even for a million dollars of coverage or more. This leaves your application as the primary source of information that goes to underwriting. Knowing you won’t have a medical exam can make it potentially tempting to put more flattering information in your application, or leave out problematic information.
The problem is that in today’s hyper-connected, data-driven world, the insurance companies can electronically verify most of your relevant history, including your health history, the prescriptions you’ve taken, your driving record and more. They even take your credit history into account. So with all this information, they are able to paint a pretty accurate picture of your situation and can ascertain whether or not it matches the information in your application. They’ll most likely catch any misrepresentations, but even if they didn’t at first, you don’t want your policy claim denied or modified right when your family needs it most.