Life Insurance Coverage – The Benefits

If you are slightly overweight and is looking to buy a life insurance coverage be prepared to pay more for your premium than what those who don’t tip the scale, so to speak, might be asked to pay. Companies specializing in insurance, over the years have discovered that it cost them more to insure people who are overweight than it does to insure those who are not. Their analysis is based on scientific research which has revealed that people who are overweight are prone to be attacked by more diseases than their ‘lanky’ counterparts as they grow older. As a rule life insurance coverage companies consider your ‘build’ in determining your premium. That is, they will use the height-weight comparison calculator to judge if your current weight corresponds to your height. They will, of course, also consider your age, lifestyle and medical history in calculating the kind of kind of coverage they ought to extend to you. But be prepared to pay more in premium for your life cover if the calculator indicates you are overweight, even though you are healthy and have a spotless medical history.

Being slightly overweight does not appear to pose much of a problem as being obese. You could tip the scale by say 10 pounds and still pay the same premium for your life insurance as those who have the perfect height-weight balance. Coverage however becomes spotty once you pass that limit. For instance, a 40-year old male of 270 pounds might be asked to pay between 15 and 20 per cent more in life insurance premium than his counterpart of the ideal weight. If he were to put on an additional thirty pounds, he might see his premium jump up 30 to 35 per cent.

There are insurance companies which specialize in providing life insurance coverage for people who are overweight. Under a policy they call “graded death benefit policy’ these companies promise more coverage payment the longer you live.