How does a person's weight affect a life insurance application?
A person’s weight is an important factor in a life insurance assessment. A Life Insurance company will use a Body Mass Index (‘BMI’) as a key measurement of general good health in insurance underwriting.
- Simply put, an overweight person usually pays higher insurance premiums than a person at a healthy weight, and an obese person will have higher premiums than an overweight person.
- Usually a BMI of up to 35 is considered typical. Once a person’s BMI reaches 39 or more, a medical exam will be required together with an MBA20 and HbA1c blood test.
BMI is less of a health issue at older ages whereas the same elevated BMI level may be more concerning at a younger age.
