Life Insurance for overweight

Julzw

Hi, Can anyone tell me if there is an insurer that will insure overweight people for a reasonable price?
My present company has just doubled the premium, it's now over £100 and nothing has changed with my health or weight in over 20 years!

InsideInsurance

Over £100 for what terms? Any pre-existing conditions? How old are you? what is your BMI?

My experience on Life was that most insurers will double the premium for someone notably over weight and there was little to no variance other than one or two use waist measurement as well

Julzw

When i took it out about 20 yrs ago it was around £25 per mth for £145000 and gradually crept up in price to around £56 last year. I was 20st 4lb then and I'm no different now. They have never contacted me over the years to see if anything changed. I just had the annual letter saying my new monthly premium was £126!
Nothing has changed. I have no life threatening conditions like heart disease or diabetes or high blood pressure. I am now 51yrs old.

kingstreet

If they do not ask for updated health information, it is the kind of plan you have, possibly a unit-linked whole life contract, which is why the premiums increase regularly.

These were taken out on a "maximum cover" basis, where the amount of cover and premium were only guaranteed for a short period, perhaps ten years.

Think about speaking to an IFA for more modern cover, such as a term assurance, with premiums which remain unchanged throughout. He will also be able to help you choose the right firm for your raised BMI.

OshayAway

Insurers vary quite a bit on how they assess risk and high BMI is a prime example. Depending on your age and BMI, you may well be able to improve on the premium you have been offered. It helps that you don't have health problems, how about your fmaily history, any 1st degree relatives with cardio-vascular issues?

Julzw

immediate relatives... mother still going strong at 81 but father died at 68 with heart failure and diabetes.

recent quote was £150 with Zurich through money supermarket for £250000 20yrs
may have to think about lowering the cover

OshayAway

Julzw wrote: »

immediate relatives... mother still going strong at 81 but father died at 68 with heart failure and diabetes.

recent quote was £150 with Zurich through money supermarket for £250000 20yrs
may have to think about lowering the cover

One family member should not affect things in this instance. Zurich are not especially good on high BMI cases.

Your best bet would be to contact a whole of market broker to research the options for you including checking with each insurer for likely BMI implications. Depending on your height, weight, age and benefit required, this will vary in terms of indicative premium and what additional evidence will be required. In other words, some may require a 'nurse screening' or 'mini-medical' to ascertain current accurate height and weight, blood pressure and cotenine test for non-smokers.

Who ever you use, ask to see the research.

marathonic

Julzw wrote: »

recent quote was £150 with Zurich through money supermarket for £250000 20yrs
may have to think about lowering the cover

Have you assessed what exactly the insurance is needed to cover and over what term?

There's no point in plucking a £250000 and 20yrs figure out of the air. 20 years brings you up to 71 years old which is why the premiums are so high.

Try a quote for 13 years (bringing you up to just before your 65th birthday) to see what that comes out with. I'm not saying to get this term - just try it to gain an understanding of what impacts the premiums.

Then figure out what you want the insurance to cover and how long the term needs to be:

marathonic

Another thing, try a quote for Family Income Benefit using the link below.

http://www.moneyworld.com/Life-Insurance/index.htm

Family Income Benefit pays out an annual amount of, for example, £20,000 over the term of the policy instead of a lump sum of, for example, £250,000.

With such a policy, if it meets your needs, you are likely to have a lower premium because the total amount to be paid out reduces over time, i.e. if you passed away 1 year into a 30 year policy, they'd pay £20,000 per year for 29 years but, if you pass away 28 years into it, they'd only pay £20,000 per year for 2 years.

Is it likely that, at the age of 71, the people who stand to benefit from your policy will require an entire payout of £250,000? I'd say this is unlikely - otherwise, what are the intentions if you survive until 72?

I tried a Family Income Benefit quote for a healthy, non-smoking 51 year old for a term of 30 years with an annual payout of £30,000 and it came to £106 per month. This is a guaranteed premium which means that it will rise by no more than inflation (the benefit payable rises too).

Of course, your BMI will restrict the selection of providers - and it would be worthwhile working it out to see if losing a small amount of weight would drop you below one of the thresholds in BMI.

OshayAway

Family Income Benefit is worth looking at but not all providers offer it and I don't think any that do are especially good on high BMI. That will likely erode the potential added value of a FIB plan.

I would suggest finding the most preferable insurer first, then factor in the available options of cover types.

marathonic

I think the main thing is the need that this insurance is to cover.

My reading of how the op can just casually say "may have to think about lowering the cover" tells me that this could, potentially, be someone that just wants a life insurance policy to leave something behind for loved ones.

If the reasoning is to pay off a mortgage balance , to provide a spouse with income until state pension age or help children through university, then it's valid enough to have insurance - and the term will need to be worked out based on how far away the mortgage is from being paid off, spouse is from state pension age or children are from graduating.

However, if the reasoning is that you want to leave something behind for loved ones, then you are far better investing the money in an S&S ISA or a Private Pension plan.

The reason for this is that your life insurance may cost £150 per month over 20 years and you could die in 21 years. You then get nothing.

£150 per month invested in an S&S ISA over 20 years would come to £52,030, £65,344 or £83,060 in todays money based on growth rates of 3.5%, 5.5% or 7.5% after inflation/charges.

That's money that is guaranteed to go to your loved ones if you pass away and can be built on after the age of 71.

I don't like the idea of coming close to 71, knowing that you may have 10-20 years left and knowing that you've got a plan that you've paid premiums towards. Premiums that could have grown to the above figures had they been invested in an S&S ISA. And that the plan is about to expire worthless.