How Obesity Affects Term Life Insurance
American’s have an unfortunate stereotype – too large of a percent of the country’s population is overweight. The United States is considered to be the most overweight nation in the world. The media has covered the “Obesity Epidemic,” heavily in recent years and lawmakers are starting to take notice. Schools are trying to make their school lunches healthier. Reality TV shows are starting to focus on those who are overweight, and helping them lose weight. The facts are actually quite disturbing. Over 120 million adults in the US are overweight. Over 50 million are considered obese. And in a sad, but eye-opening statistic, around 9 million Americans are severely obese. Because of the negative effects that extra weight and dangerous weight can have on your health, it can affect your term life insurance rates.
Health and Term Life Insurance Rates
Insurance companies take a lot into consideration when they calculate their term life insurance rates. They often look for trends in health to ensure that they understand certain baselines of “healthiness” their clients and potential clients should have. They are looking at health because a person that may have recently uncovered a health issue is more likely to need life insurance quickly. Because their need is a shorter span of time, companies quote them higher term life insurance rates to ensure that they are getting the same amount of money in the projected shorter amount of time. Because obesity does shorten one’s life span, it’s a simple connection to the life insurance companies.
Term Life Insurance Rate Benefits for Losing Weight
Companies offering term life insurance as well as other are beginning to offer incentives for losing weight. If you have proof of losing weight and attempting a healthier lifestyle, some companies offer a better term life insurance rate. The goal is to help clients become healthier, so they may live a longer life. While this does seem to benefit the insurance companies, this also benefits the individuals themselves – losing weight is never a bad thing. Changing your life to get a better insurance rate helps you in more ways than one. Not only can it help you improve your health, but also it can save you money over the course of the year.
Generally the more you weigh (over the considered “healthy weight” for your sex, age, and height), the more your rates go up. Because the extra weight on top of healthy weight is considered detrimental to your health, the insurance companies use this as a fair way to judge health. This does not mean that companies offering term life insurance are looking for everyone to be as skinny as a runway model but they expect you to keep and maintain a weight that is healthy. Anyone who is harming themselves through their weight is a liability.
Fix Term Life Insurance Rates with Short Plans
If you are considering term life insurance and can afford to wait a year or two before you apply, use this time to lose weight. If you lose weight, and can be considered healthier, you will likely be quoted a lower term life insurance rate. Knowing where your body should be for your age, height, and sex can help you to understand how much weight you should lose to not only get better rates, but to be a healthier individual.
Obesity can affect multiple aspects of your life. Everyone knows that being heavier can affect your health as well as your life expectancy. Knowing that being larger can cost you more money on your term life insurance rates may help you move toward a healthier lifestyle and size.