Life Insurance for overweight

marathonic

Sorry, I should have got the selection for the quote right... the bit I was disagreeing with was "the strain on the heart is similar either way.".....

That's more of a health and fitness topic anyway and I've no idea about the underwriting aspect of it.

One would think that, especially with gyms becoming more popular (in my area anyway), there's a huge opening for an insurer to take bodyfat levels into consideration as opposed to just BMI when deciding whether or not to add a loading to the premium.

The problem that I see is that bodyfat is much more difficult to measure correctly when compared to BMI. Even using calipers as opposed to the, more inaccurate, scales, two different people can come back with two different readings.

marathonic

stephenni1971 wrote: »

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

I'd have to agree with you there - but, at the end of the day, over-analysis will always be better than under-analysis

Julzw

Thanks Marathonic, the ISA idea has given me something to think about!
I don't have a mortgage, but I have a husband, two grown up daughters ( 32yrs & 20yrs) and a grand-daughter (1mth), this is mainly what I want the cover for, in case anything happens to me they have enough to help them, pay bills etc. My eldest is in rented with her partner & baby, it would certainly help them to buy a place of their own.

OshayAway

marathonic wrote: »

Sorry, I should have got the selection for the quote right... the bit I was disagreeing with was "the strain on the heart is similar either way.".....

I'm not sure I agree with it entirely either but that's the stock answer from underwriters.

The processes involved in ascertaining body fat on application would not be viable. It would no doubt need to be verified by a 3rd party, e.g. in the form of a nurse screening. That would be at the cost of the insurer. I'm not sure how much a mini-medical costs at present but I should expect it to be in excess of £100. That cost would be paid by the insurer regardless of if the policy actually went ahead. That in itself would likely result in a premium increase across the board. All in an effort to save a small number of people some money on their premiums? I don't think that adds up.

The other issue is that these policies are typically, by their nature, long term contracts. So if some health nut with 7% body fat at age 25 with a BMI of 35 takes out a plan for 30 years, what is the chance they will maintain that when they are 55? The older they are, the more likely they are to claim.

I'm not saying that all individuals who have high muscle mass, low body fat but high BMI turn obese overnight. It's a myth that muscle turns to fat without exercise, but I expect that the vast majority's BMI and body fat percentage goes up in later life.

marathonic

OshayAway wrote: »

I expect that the vast majority's BMI and body fat percentage goes up in later life.

Agreed 100%. I think the vast majority of people, both of the average lifestyle and the more athletic lifestyle, have a BMI that will only increase with age.

I also agree with the difficulty with measuring bodyfat percentage. Perhaps an option would be to apply a loading unless the insured goes through a medical at their own cost. However, I'm not sure of the ins and outs of it.

I've recently taken out a life and critical illness policy with a BMI of 24.8. I've been debating whether to cancel it or not as I have no dependants - the main benefit to me will be having a mortgage paid off if I get critically ill (and the life portion was only taken because it made a minimal difference to premium).

I guess, based on this discussion, I have another reason to keep the policy given the fact that I'm still looking to gain a little muscle - which could, potentially, result in a loading if I take out the policy at a later date.