Obesity is one of the major health concerns the whole world is facing. The obvious health concerns aside, what if obesity affects your eligibility to get life insurance and its price too? Many obese people face many challenges to get a life insurance as obesity is associated with many deadly diseases.
If you are obese, and are looking to get life insurance, here is everything you need to know about obese life insurance.
Body Mass Index and Correction Factor 703
If you are obese or overweight, your height and weight play a key role in determining the price of your life insurance. The insurance companies consider Body Mass Index(BMI) to assess obesity. BMI is calculated by dividing your body weight by the square of your height.
However, it can be a problem where the metric system is not very common. In that case, a correction factor 703 is used to find the appropriate BMI. That means you can calculate a person’s BMI with 200 lbs weight and 72 inches height as (200*703)/(72*72) = 27.12.
Though BMI is a reliable method to determine obesity, it isn’t always the right choice. In that case, the candidate’s medical tests, medical history, and family history are considered to determine the price of the life insurance.
How do weight and height affect life insurance rates?
Insurance companies have pre-determined weight and height “build charts.” These build charts mention the maximum allowable weight and height for each insurance rate slab.
Every inch of height has a different permissible max weight. Life insurance agents refer to these charts to decide the rate slab for the weight and height of the client.
The healthiest people who fit in the ideal part of the chart receive the best insurance rates, which are called “preferred plus” rates. People who are considered obese and overweight can still get the best rates on their insurance if they do not have any other health problems while applying for the insurance.
This way, even if your weight and height aren’t ideal for the insurance, you can still get preferred rates from different insurance companies.
Can your insurance application get declined if you are obese?
Most overweight people are concerned about whether they are too overweight that their insurance application might get rejected. Different insurance companies have different cut-off points to determine the maximum threshold of the weight and height. Yet you need to have more than 100 pounds extra weight than the average American man and woman.
Men and women have different weight cut-off points to get declined for life insurance. A 5 foot 9 inches man has to have 329 lbs weight to get rejected for life insurance, while a 5 foot 4 inches woman has to reach 283 pounds to get rejected.
Different countries use different measuring systems; correcting factor 703 is often used to convert inches to meters and pounds to kilograms. That means a person with 200 lbs weight and 72 inches height will have a BMI of 27.12 if the formula (200*703)/(72*72) = 27.12 is used.
Geeting the best rates on life insurance can be tricky for obese people. With the correct information and suitable insurance company, it’s possible to get the preferred rates even if you are overweight or obese.