Weight Problems Insurance - Quality-Ins.com - Life Insurance Canada

WEIGHT AND LIFE INSURANCE
HOW DOES YOUR WEIGHT AFFECT LIFE INSURANCE?

These days with all of lifes gadgets and TV, it's easy to develop those hard-to-get-rid-of-few pounds. When it comes to life insurance companies, they always want their customers to be nice and fit and trim. This means that you'll live longer and be less of a risk for them.

It's no secret having health problems can make it harder for you to buy life insurance. High blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease are among the conditions that can make it difficult to buy life insurance.

If you're overweight, but otherwise healthy, you still might have a hard time buying life insurance. Even if you're not obese, there are some cases in which you'll have to pay more for life insurance if your weight reaches a certain level. In most instances, the heavier you are, the more you'll pay.

It's all about "build" Along with age, medical history, and lifestyle, life insurance companies take your "build" into consideration on your application. "Build" is your weight relative to your height. Life insurers use tables that combine the two factors to help determine what kind of risk you pose. (See the American Medical Association's table at the end of this story.)

The more you weigh in relation to your height, the more potential you have for health problems. The ideal life insurance customer is someone who is expected to live a long, healthy life. Statistics show overweight people pose increased insurance risks, because they are likely to develop health problems as they grow older. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, excess weight is linked to 280,000 deaths in the U.S. annually.

Statistics show that overweight people pose more of a risk to insurers, because overweight people are likely to develop health problems as they grow older.

WE'RE GETTING BIGGER
The average American and Canadian waistline is getting bigger. In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported obesity climbed from 19.8 percent of American adults to 20.9 percent between 2000 and 2001. The CDC also reported diagnosed cases of diabetes increased from 7.3 percent to 7.9 percent during the same one-year period. The increases were evident regardless of sex, age, race and educational status.

"Obesity and diabetes are among our top public health problems in the United States today," says U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. "The good news is that diabetes and other chronic illnesses can be prevented with modest lifestyle changes.”

BEING UNHEALTHY IS MORE COSTLY
It's no secret that having health problems can make it hard for you to buy life insurance. High blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease are among the conditions that can make life insurance companies balk at selling you a policy. But what if you're healthy except for one condition: You're overweight. If that's the case, you still may have a hard time buying life insurance. Even if you're not obese, there are some cases where you'll have to pay more for life insurance if your weight reaches a certain level. And in most instances, the heavier you are, the more you'll pay.

Unfortunately, your weight problems can dog you whether you are applying for whole (permanent) or term life insurance. "Underwriting is based on survival mortality," says Deanna Tillisch, a spokesperson for Northwestern Mutual Life. "It wouldn't be different if you were applying for term or perm insurance." Where The "Uninsurable" Go Where can you go if you are rejected because of your weight? There are companies that specialize in insuring people with severe health problems, such as Impaired Risk Specialists Inc. of Glenview, Ill., which offers insurance to people with such illnesses as asthma, epilepsy, heart disease, and cancer. Diane Bobinas, an assistant vice president with Impaired Risk Specialists, says that one way her company is able to insure obese people is by offering a "graded death benefit policy" that pays out varying amounts depending on how long you live. In short, the longer you live, the more money your beneficiaries receive. For example, if you die within the first year, your beneficiary gets the premium you paid plus 10 percent interest of payout. If you die within two years, your beneficiary gets 25 percent of the death benefit; in three years, 50 percent; in four years, 75 percent; and in five years, the full 100 percent. Citizens Security Life Insurance of Louisville, Ky., also offers a graded death benefit for obese people, but only in extreme cases Cheri Glenn, vice president of underwriting at the Citizens Security, says the company uses four "tables," or categories, that combine height and weight to determine what kind of policy should be issued. A person in "Table Four" — the highest table in terms of weight — would have to pay double the premium as a person of ideal weight. For example, Glenn estimated that a six-foot-tall male (who should ideally weigh 183) in Table Four would likely weigh about 320 pounds. If the person was even heavier than that, he would be assigned a graded death benefit policy, where he would pay still higher premium. If customers feels that premiums are too expensive, some companies will advise them to seek a lower death benefit to make insurance more affordable. Still, there's no escaping the fact that being obese is going to cost you if you're shopping for life insurance. "Wherever you go in these cases, you're going to pay for the risk," Bobinas says. How Much Is Too Much? The following table compiled by the American Medical Association shows a desirable weight range in both males and females. Keep in mind that your insurance company may not use this same data, but the chart should give you a sense of how you measure up in relation to the ideal weight for your height. gd

*Source: American Medical Association, 1996*
		weight range
Height		Small frame		Medium frame		Large frame
Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women
5'1"	4'9"	123-129	99-108	126-136	106-118	133-145	115-128
5'2"	4'10"	125-131	100-110	128-138	108-120	135-148	117-131
5'3"	4'11"	127-133	101-112	130-140	110-123	137-151	119-134
5'4"	5'0"	129-135	103-115	132-143	112-126	139-155	121-137
5'5"	5'1"	131-137	105-118	134-146	115-129	141-149	125-140
5'6"	5'2"	133-140	108-121	137-149	118-132	144-163	128-144
5'7"	5'3"	135-143	111-124	140-152	121-135	147-167	131-148
5'8"	5'4"	137-146	114-127	143-155	124-138	150-171	134-152
5'9"	5'5"	139-149	117-130	146-158	127-141	153-175	137-156
5'10"	5'6"	141-152	120-133	149-161	130-144	156-179	140-160
5'11"	5'7"	144-155	123-136	152-165	133-147	159-183	143-164
6'0"	5'8"	147-159	126-139	155-169	136-150	163-187	146-167
6'1"	5'9"	150-163	129-142	159-173	139-153	167-192	149-170
6'2"	5'10"	153-167	132-145	162-177	142-156	171-197	152-173
6'3"	5'11"	157-171	135-148	166-182	145-159	176-202	155-176