Does My Height and Weight Impact My Life Insurance Premium?

How is height and weight related to life insurance policies and how high or low life insurance rates are? Well, life insurance policies and the premiums paid are based on many factors – how long the life insurance policy is effective, occupation, lifestyle habits, and family needs. Many life insurance companies require potential life insurance policyholders to undergo medical examinations before they begin to assess the cost of the life insurance policies’ rates, and those medical examination reports will include height and weight information.

Height and weight is important to life insurance companies because being overweight or underweight can put potential life insurance policy holders at a greater risk for health complications such as heart attacks, diseases such as diabetes, and even death – which are only three of the reasons people use their life insurance policies. Therefore, life insurance companies see overweight and underweight people as being “high risk,” and will either raise the life insurance policy premiums, or refuse to offer a life insurance policy at all.

By developing a lifestyle that focuses on wellness, fitness, and diet, potential life insurance policyholders can not only become healthier, but they can also help get their weight to a healthy ratio with their weight. For example, 160 pounds isn’t considered very heavy for a person of 5’9’’ tall, but it’s considered quite heavy for a person who is only 5’ tall. Of course, life insurance companies also take into consideration the gender of the potential life insurance policyholder.

If purchasing a life insurance policy isn’t at the top of your to-do list right now, but will be in a few years or so, consider beginning a lifestyle that focuses on your wellness, fitness, and diet now, and one that will help you achieve and maintain a weight that is healthy in relation to your height. By doing so, you won’t have to worry about high premiums or denied services in the future.