Thursday, November 19, 2009

How Does Obesity Effect Your Life Insurance?


Obesity is prevalent all round the globe and Canada is no exception. A survey undertaken in 2004 by the Canadian Community Health stated that over 23% of the adult public suffered from obesity. Another 8.6 million, or 36.1% were heavier than average.

For those that are overweight or obese purchasing life insurance is more complicated to purchase due to the direct health issues that go hand in hand with weight issues such as heart disease and diabetes. Life insurance comes in four types:

Preferred Rates: For people in very good health and with an outstanding family health history.
Standard Rates: The usual rate that an applicant is normally classified.
Rated/Substandard: Given to individuals who have a greater risk category.
Declined: Where the insurance company refuses to cover an customer.

Standard cover would be granted to a healthy man who weighed 250lbs and had a height of 5'9" - this is established on an in-house survey completed by some of the life insurance companies.

When working work the grouping a person comes under, insurance companies look at the risk variables linked with health problems that are often part and parcel of obesity. If you are obese find yourself a reputable broker as they are able to help obtain a reasonable premium for you.

Making an insurance company aware of lifestyle or any irregularities that may influence your quote is common sense if you want a fair quote, especially as many companies use the equivalent height/weight chart for both genders. Simplified Issue Life Insurance is another option for obese customers. These applications have no medical tests and less health questions. They come with higher costs and lower face amounts, but pricing options have increased significantly in recent years.

For more information, visit our instant life insurance quote calculator.

Image capture by Miran Rijavec.

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