Life Insurance for Overweight People (2024) (2024)

Your weight is just one of several factors that insurance companies consider when setting policy rates, along with your age, health, lifestyle and family medical conditions. Specifically, insurers use your height-to-weight ratio to determine whether you are overweight or obese. Typically, underwriters use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) BMI index, which measures both height and weight, to assess whether your weight makes you a high-risk applicant.

Obesity is often considered a risk factor because it may be indicative of other health conditions. Insurance companies may assume that being overweight can lead to an increased probability of the following conditions, among others:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Sleep apnea
• Osteoarthritis
• Fatty liver disease
• Kidney disease

Depending on the insurer, a policy may include a weight limit based on your height. Insurers often use height and weight to assess BMI, then use something called a build chart to determine how your BMI will affect your eligibility and rate.

The Underwriting Process

Insurance providers assign applicants to risk classes based on several factors. An application’s risk class plays a role in underwriting guidelines that determine what type of policy is offered and how much to charge for life insurance premiums.

A life insurance company will often have minimum and maximum weight limits for a given height for each rating class. Risk classes include super preferred, preferred, standard and substandard.

People considered in excellent overall health who do not engage in risky hobbies or dangerous occupations are placed in a super preferred risk class. This class typically offers the best rates, but only a small percentage of people qualify.

Next is the preferred risk class. People who qualify for the preferred rating have a similar profile as those in the super preferred class — meaning they’re in good health but may be taking medication to treat a condition like high blood pressure, are slightly overweight or have a storied family health history. All of these elements can indicate a higher risk and result in higher premiums.

Many people fall into the standard risk class. These people may have a higher BMI, take multiple medications, have potential health issues or engage in some risky occupations or lifestyles. Again, you can expect to pay higher rates compared to the preferred or super preferred risk classes.

High-risk applicants, such as those who are diagnosed as obese, have significant health issues or lead a high-risk lifestyle, will fall in the lowest risk class, which is called a substandard table rating. In this class, insurers use a table of letters or numbers to classify individuals, and premiums can be extremely high as the table rating increases.

The Underwriting Process

The underwriting process assigns applicants to risk classes based on several factors to help determine policy availability and cost. A life insurance company will often have minimum and maximum weight limits for height for each rating class. Risk classes in increasing order of cost include super preferred, preferred, standard and substandard.

Underwriters place applicants considered in excellent overall health and who do not engage in risky hobbies or dangerous occupations in the super preferred risk class, which offers the lowest premiums. Next is the preferred risk class, which groups applicants in good health but may be taking medication to treat a condition like high blood pressure, are slightly overweight or have a family history of serious illnesses.

Many people fall into the standard risk class, which features higher rates than the preferred classes. These applicants may have a higher BMI, take multiple medications, have potential health issues, or engage in some risky occupations or lifestyles. High-risk applicants, such as those diagnosed as overweight, have significant health issues or lead a high-risk lifestyle, would fall into the substandard table rating, with premiums increasing as the table rating increases.

Insurers use several factors to determine rates for applicants. For people diagnosed as clinically overweight, the two most important factors to be concerned with include BMI and medical history.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is a person’s weight in pounds divided by the square of their height in feet. While not a perfect measure according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a high BMI can indicate a person carries excess weight, which may pose potential health problems. A BMI does not diagnose an individual’s overall health.

BMI is not the only tool medical professionals use to classify weight types. Other tools include:

• Measuring waist circumference
• Measuring skin thickness using skinfold calipers in certain areas of your body, such as the back of your upper arms and under your shoulder blades
• DEXA scan and air displacement plethysmography

There is no industry standard for how insurers use BMI to make application decisions and determine rates.

Medical History and Conditions

Underwriters will look at your medical history to see if you have been clinically overweight for a long time. Insurance companies will also look at obesity-related conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. The more of these risk factors you have, the higher the likelihood of paying higher premiums.

Other Risk Factors

Although BMI and weight are primary risk factors, life insurance companies use several other criteria to develop a risk profile, which is then used to determine if you’ll be offered a policy and at what price. Factors vary from insurer to insurer, but many are standard across the industry, including:

• Age: Younger policyholders statistically live longer, representing less risk to an insurance company.
• Occupation: If you have a high-risk job, such as a firefighter, pilot, police officer or construction worker, you might pay more for coverage.
• Lifestyle: If you regularly engage in dangerous hobbies, such as mountain climbing, scuba diving or skydiving, you may also land in a high-risk category. Heavy drinking and tobacco use could also impact your life insurance costs.
• Gender: Males are considered a higher risk than females due to their shorter life expectancy.

Being medically overweight may result in paying higher premiums for a life insurance policy. How much more you’re charged depends on how an insurer classifies you and your level of risk.

Classification of Overweight and Obese

Classifications based on your BMI are a primary way for insurance underwriters to determine your risk. Weight limits will vary by insurer and policy, but to give you a general idea of insurance industry guidelines, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institute of Health, uses the following BMI guidance:

• Underweight: BMI below 18.5
• Healthy weight: BMI between 18.4 and 24.9
• Overweight: BMI between 25.0 and 29.9
• Obese: BMI of 30 and above

While every insurance company has different requirements, providers follow a similar process that affects premiums based on the weight of the applicant.

Below are sample term life rates that show rate differences for applicants of different weights. Keep in mind that life insurance rates for a permanent life insurance policy will be significantly more expensive due to cash value components and lifelong terms.

Rates are based on a $100,000, 20-year term policy for a 30-year-old female.

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*Sample quotes for each life insurance company were provided by Quote-bot, a nationally licensed life insurance brokerage. Rates are accurate as of July 2023.

Rates are modified and can increase based on the height and weight ratio of an applicant. As you can see, the maximum weight in this example is 282 pounds. In this case, applicants who are 5’3” and weigh more than 282 pounds would be automatically declined for coverage.

In general, insurance companies allow an additional nine or 10 pounds for every inch in height. For example, if the maximum weight for someone to get approved in the above example is 282 pounds, you can assume that for an applicant who is 5’4”, the maximum approval weight would be 291 or 292 pounds.

Impact of Weight Loss on Rates

People who lose enough weight to improve their height-to-weight ratio and move from one category to the other can get a better rate. Note, though, that insurers can look at your full health history, and if you recently lost weight, a company might use your starting weight to determine your risk.

While being overweight can exclude you from preferred rate classes, obtaining some form of life insurance coverage is often still possible. However, being overweight can increase your rates according to the insurance company’s underwriting guidelines.

Overweight people who are denied life insurance coverage are usually severely obese or have other health conditions that present a greater risk to the insurance company. The chart in the previous section gives an example of an applicant who could be denied coverage for exceeding the weight limit.

You may face challenges finding affordable traditional life insurance coverage if you’re considered medically overweight or obese, but there are some things you can do to minimize life insurance costs.

Work with an Independent Agent

An independent life insurance agent will know which life insurance companies are more favorable toward overweight and obese applicants. These agents will be able to generate multiple quotes from providers so you have a full list of options to choose from.

Agents will also know which insurance companies specialize in high-risk policies. An insurer is more likely to accept your life insurance application and offer affordable rates if it specializes in high-risk policies that apply to your situation.

A fiduciary financial advisor can also be an indispensable resource. Advisors can provide you with practical advice, including if life insurance coverage is the best fit for your financial needs.

Shop Around for Quotes

If you prefer to do the work on your own, there are several resources you can access to find the cheapest life insurance. However, we do not recommend relying on price alone. It also helps to look at customer service ratings, especially statistics from the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Survey and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index. You can assess an insurer’s financial strength by its financial stability ratings from the independent credit rating agency AM Best.

It is also important to consider the company’s range of policy offerings for term and whole life insurance.

Look into Group Insurance

If you have an employer that offers employees group life coverage, you might get cheaper coverage than on your own. This is common in high-risk occupations where employers want to protect employees who may have difficulty getting individual coverage. You may benefit from a group coverage offering if you have a high BMI.

Employers may offer a small life insurance coverage amount at no cost, but this type of term policy coverage is often inadequate. You may still need to buy another policy to give you the coverage level you want.

Many people face a variety of risk factors that can drive up the cost of their life insurance policy. Weight is one of those factors, specifically as it impacts your BMI. Though an imperfect measure of health, insurance companies still use weight when deciding whether to provide coverage and at what rate.

To get a better understanding of your BMI’s impact on your life insurance quotes, start shopping for a policy on your own or speak with an agent to learn more about potential costs. You can also review your other risk factors and look for ways to lower policy costs, such as working with an independent agent or looking into group insurance coverage.

In general, we recommend requesting quotes from at least three insurance companies before deciding on coverage. This approach can help ensure you receive the best coverage at a reasonable rate, offering you and your loved ones the peace of mind that a life insurance policy provides.

Ryan Lasker is a financial writer and editor with bylines in Morning Brew, The Motley Fool, and several more. As a certified public accountant, he leverages his technical expertise in personal finance and tax to fuel his passion for teaching financial literacy. When he’s not writing, editing or working in a spreadsheet, he’s biking the D.C. trails or reading.