Life Cover: Keep Your Weight Down And Your Premiums!

The UK's obesity epidemic could push up life insurance premiums for everyone.

Not surprisingly life insurance companies are only willing to offer life cover where the chance of you making a claim is remote. They want to insure those of us who have a clean bill of health and don't put our lives at risk. If you fit the insurer's criteria perfectly you can expect low-cost life cover in return. But what if you don't tick all the boxes?

Life cover can be pretty cheap these days, but it looks like bargain basement protection could soon become a thing of the past thanks to one chief culprit: obesity. The UK is in the midst of an obesity epidemic where adult obesity rates have almost quadrupled over the last 25 years. In fact, two-thirds of UK adults are now considered overweight or obese and risking their health as a result.

But what does this mean for the cost of life cover? Well, first of all we could see the cost for everyone becoming more expensive across the board if the general population is deemed, by and large, to be overweight. And, secondly, if you're carrying a few more pounds than you should, you may find your premiums are increased too.

Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the measures insurers use to calculate how much you will have to pay for your life cover. Your BMI score tells an insurer whether your weight is healthy. It is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres. To find out yours use this calculator.

Have a look at the table below to see which range your BMI score falls into:  

BMI ranges are defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO)

If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 you're said to be an ideal weight for your height. This reduces your chances of developing heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.

Some insurers have now begun to increase premiums automatically once BMI reaches 27. Previously, increases often weren't triggered unless your BMI was 33 or 34. Nowadays costs are typically increased by 50% which means a monthly premium of £20 would rise to £30. And this is before any related health issues such as high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes are taken into consideration which could push up the costs even more.

But to me this seems a little harsh. Let's say you have a BMI of 27 but you are in good health. True, you may be a little heavier than the ideal but you aren't considered obese according to the WHO so is it fair to charge you a whopping 50% more?

Skinny Minnies

Those of you who are underweight won't get away scot-free either. It seems with some insurers a BMI of less than 18 could also trigger similar rises, meaning you could end up paying half as much again as those who fall into the `ideal' range.

But BMI is less than perfect as a measure of your health. It may not be accurate if you are a weight-trainer or an athlete, over the age of 60 or have a long-term health condition. Even if your weight is ideal, your waist size is also significant. People who are `apple-shaped' rather than `pear-shaped' are at risk greater from health problems, so perhaps insurers should focus on your `hip to waist ratio' rather than your BMI.

What to do if you don't tick all the boxes

There's not a great deal you can do to change how an insurer chooses to assess you and your health. But there are steps you can take to get value-for-money on your life policy:

• Tell the insurer if there is a specific reason why your BMI is high. Athletes, for example, carry more muscle which is heavier than body fat so they may appear overweight according to the BMI scale despite being more fit and healthy than ordinary mortals.
• Don't be put off if an insurer increases your premium. Try someone else instead as they won't all treat you the same.  
• As always shop around until you find a competitive policy. Try The Motley Fool Insurance Centre today.
• And most importantly, be honest about your weight and height or you run the risk of a claim being rejected later on.

Of course, without sounding too flippant I hope, you could always try getting your BMI into the ideal range so your weight is no longer an issue. The benefits will extend far beyond cheap life cover!

More: Life's Greatest Question | Top Tips For Buying Life Cover | Visit The Motley Fool Insurance Centre for a competitive quote.

The comments above are the opinions of the author only and do not represent advice specific to your circumstances.

This article has been approved and issued by Direct Life & Pension Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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