Life Insurance for overweight

hellokitty08

Well I tried to get life insurance when I was in my early 20s and and 18 stone and no one would take me!

kingstreet

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Well I tried to get life insurance when I was in my early 20s and and 18 stone and no one would take me!

Please set out for us the attempts you made and the advice you sought to achieve your cover...

OshayAway

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Well I tried to get life insurance when I was in my early 20s and and 18 stone and no one would take me!

With high BMI cases the younger you are, the harsher the terms. That's because statistically, people put on more weight as they get older.

If you did not have a broker research the underwriting for you, that may be the reason for the decline. A different provider may have offered terms.

Some have a very low cut-off for maximum BMI of say 36 compared with others that will go to 48 or more.

marathonic

One thing that interests me when I got my insurance recently is that my BMI is worked out at 24.8 which is just below the top end of the 'normal' range (normal being 20 - 25).

I know that the insurers (or at least some of them ) are likely to have higher limits (closer to 30) before a premium loading applies.

However, in my case, I am a regular gym goer and my body fat percentage is under 10% which puts me in the 'athlete' category.

I assume this is something that would be taken into consideration but wonder how it would be done - to avoid potential payout problems if your weight subsequently balloons.

I assume that, had insurance companies posed any questions, I could get a bodyfat test done at the doctors (just to have it on my records).

If all goes according to plan, I'll be heavier in a few years through weightlifting as opposed to putting on fat so I guess this is something I'll find out about in due course.

OshayAway

marathonic wrote: »

One thing that interests me when I got my insurance recently is that my BMI is worked out at 24.8 which is just below the top end of the 'normal' range (normal being 20 - 25).

I know that the insurers (or at least some of them ) are likely to have higher limits (closer to 30) before a premium loading applies.

However, in my case, I am a regular gym goer and my body fat percentage is under 10% which puts me in the 'athlete' category.

I assume this is something that would be taken into consideration but wonder how it would be done - to avoid potential payout problems if your weight subsequently balloons.

I assume that, had insurance companies posed any questions, I could get a bodyfat test done at the doctors (just to have it on my records).

If all goes according to plan, I'll be heavier in a few years through weightlifting as opposed to putting on fat so I guess this is something I'll find out about in due course.

Most insurers do not differentiate between 'fit' or 'fat', high BMI is high BMI, the strain on the heart is similar either way.

Future change in BMI will not affect a claim as long as the information is correct at the point of application / policy start date.

marathonic

OshayAway wrote: »

Most insurers do not differentiate between 'fit' or 'fat', high BMI is high BMI, the strain on the heart is similar either way.

This I disagree with (unless of course gaining muscle is done through the use of drugs/steroids).

You gain muscle by working out, so while you were building up your muscles, you also built up your heart!

Whilst the muscle will require additional blood to be pumped through it, the heart, through excercising, will be built up enough to more than handle the increased requirement.

In theory, the heart should not be strained to the extent that it would with someone with the same level of BMI through an unhealthy lifestyle. I'd argue that it would be even less strained than the heart of the average person of an average weight.

marathonic

Here's a statement from the American Heart Association on the subject of resistance training:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2007/07/16/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.185214.full.pdf

You only really need to read the short "abstract" at the top because the document is quite long and technical.

stephenni1971

marathonic wrote: »

Here's a statement from the American Heart Association on the subject of resistance training:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2007/07/16/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.185214.full.pdf

You only really need to read the short "abstract" at the top because the document is quite long and technical.

There is what you think - then there is the facts.

Most insurers start to rate at a BMI of 32.

Having looked at your posts you seem to overanalyse things a bit...

OshayAway

marathonic wrote: »

This I disagree with (unless of course gaining muscle is done through the use of drugs/steroids).

You gain muscle by working out, so while you were building up your muscles, you also built up your heart!

Whilst the muscle will require additional blood to be pumped through it, the heart, through excercising, will be built up enough to more than handle the increased requirement.

In theory, the heart should not be strained to the extent that it would with someone with the same level of BMI through an unhealthy lifestyle. I'd argue that it would be even less strained than the heart of the average person of an average weight.

Don't shoot the messenger! Insurers have to asses risk somehow, in some cases they have to draw a line for simplicity's sake.

ACG

marathonic wrote: »

This I disagree with (unless of course gaining muscle is done through the use of drugs/steroids).

You gain muscle by working out, so while you were building up your muscles, you also built up your heart!

Whilst the muscle will require additional blood to be pumped through it, the heart, through excercising, will be built up enough to more than handle the increased requirement.

In theory, the heart should not be strained to the extent that it would with someone with the same level of BMI through an unhealthy lifestyle. I'd argue that it would be even less strained than the heart of the average person of an average weight.

Oshay is right, i used to be an account manager at a life office (up until around 2-3 years ago). They used to treat a rugby player the same as someone who was just generally overweight (presuming their height/weight is the same).

I was surprised too when i first heard it.

The BMI disclosed though i think should be possible to obtain at standard rates, its borderline but still within the norm for some of the more lenient insurers.

My suggestion would be to speak to a Mortgage or Financial adviser, they should be able to get you cover and make a recommendation on how much cover you actually need.... theres no point over insuring yourself otherwise its justed wasted money.