Insurance And Obesity – Can You Get Life Or Health Insurance?
June 17, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
Here is another way that being overweight, or obese could affect you – getting life or health insurance.
Now I am not speaking from any authority here, but from my own experience and the experience of friends that have been willing to share their story with me.
Life Insurance and Mortgage Life Insurance and Obesity
Many life insurance companies will require you to get a health test done before saying yes to offering you health insurance. They also require you to fill out a form where you have to state various illnesses you’ve had or have and past medical history.
I know from friends that purchased homes and applied for mortage life insurance that they’ve been declined when they said that they have diabetes for example. I know someone else who was refused disability insurance due to claims they had made with WCB and an existing condition.
So will getting life insurance of any type affect you? I would say “yes”.
That’s not to say that you will be refused – but the cost may be so high that it is not possible to purchase it.
Here is a small article from the Association of British Insurers found on the website http://www.onlyinsurance.com/Life-Insurance-News/12751422-Obesity-means-higher-life-insurance.aspx
Life Insurance – Obesity means higher life insurance – 13/05/2008
People who are overweight can prepare to have to pay for higher premiums in future, warns the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Companies providing life insurance generally are becoming fussier about lifestyle factors when people apply. Smoking has always been top of the list of activities frowned upon, but the increasing awareness of in the UK has now attracted their attention more than ever.
Being overweight by itself is not so much what is disliked by the insurance company, but the illnesses relating to the condition and which may stem from being obese. Such conditions will not ordinarily be covered by the policy. As the obesity level increases, so does the risk of associated illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and strokes. This will only add to the problem of rising life insurance quotes.
It seems the short term response to tackle the overall problem of obesity is to hit the consumer in the pocket where it hurts, thus providing them with an incentive to slim down. It of course does not tackle the problem of poor people who may be overweight who are then priced out of life insurance and may simply not take any cover out at all.
Unfortunatley my searches did not result in any references to this specifically but if you think about it, insurance companies are in the business of managing risk. If you are obese, or overweight the risk is high that you will have related issues such as diabetes, heart disease and a host of other ailments. Would you insure someone that is obese?
I was able to find a cached copy of a report – http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:1RpjEp2VZ2UJ:canadiancpd.medscape.com/viewarticle/559151_print+%22Association+of+British+Insurers%22+overweight&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca from MedScape that says:
A spokeswoman for Direct Line said it was willing to insure people with diabetes, depending on their “rating factor”, but that they could face loaded premiums.
“Every case is different, but if someone is at increased risk of health problems, they will pay increased premiums.”
The higher the risk, the higher the premium or a flat-out refusal to insure.
Additional Resources and Information
- http://www.themoneystop.co.uk/112006/life-insurance-costs-can-rocket-if-you-are-overweight-or-a-smoker.html
- http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/11052009/401/10-ways-cut-insurance-costs.html
- http://uk.insurancewide.com/insurance/life/news/2007/june/life-insurance-quotes-to-rise-as-obesity-epidemic-worsens-18188627/
- http://www.insure.com/articles/lifeinsurance/weight.html
- http://www.jdpower.com/insurance/articles/The-Cost-of-Being-Overweight-and-Term-Life-Insurance
Here is to your health!
Mohamed
