How Does BMI Affect Term Insurance?

Health plays a crucial role in the calculation of your insurance premiums. It's a no-brainer that healthier individuals may be less likely to fall ill or develop chronic illnesses that can shorten their lifespan. Hence, your lifestyle, occupation, prior illnesses, and family history may have a direct correlation to your insurance premiums. In fact, your insurer is likely to request a complete medical examination for you so they can evaluate your current health status. This is applicable to your BMI as well. There may be a significant effect of your BMI on term insurance and its premium calculation. But what exactly is BMI?

What Is BMI?

BMI is short for Body Mass Index. It is a formula that determines a person’s weight relative to his/her height to ascertain whether the person is healthy at a broad level. A good BMI indicator considers the person’s gender, age, height, and weight to determine their body mass index. A normal BMI score tends to lie anywhere between 18.5 and 24.9, indicating that a person’s weight is proportionate to his/her height.³

To calculate BMI, your body weight is divided by the square of your height. Online BMI calculators will do this for your automatically. One’s body’s mass can therefore be determined by how high the BMI comes out to be. One can use a BMI chart top categorize a person into any one of the following classifications²:

If BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9, it is considered as normal or healthy weight

If BMI is lower than 18.5, it is considered as under weight

If BMI is higher than 25 to 29.9 it is considered as overweight

If BMI is higher than 30, it is considered as obese.

Now that we understand the basics of BMI, what is the relationship between BMI and term insurance plans?

How to Use BMI calculator?

You can use the BMI calculator online to find your BMI. For instance, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance offers a simple BMI calculator which shows your BMI in a few steps. To use the calculator, here are the steps that you can take –

1. Enter your height in feet and inches

2. Enter your weight in kilograms

3. Click on ‘Calculate’

Once the details are entered and you have clicked the ‘Calculate’ tab, the calculator will automatically calculate your BMI and show the result. You can also check whether you are underweight, overweight, obese or normal weight.

You can also choose to check the BMI range and chart which shows the BMI range and which weight category it falls into and then understand the effect of BMI on term insurance and its premium.

Effect of BMI on Term Insurance Premium

All insurers assess how high your term insurance plan’s premiums will be based on your BMI. If your BMI falls within the normal range, your premium will remain same and not be increased, provided you qualify as healthy in other domains as well. Assuming your BMI comes out to be in the overweight category, your insurer might issue your policy at a higher premium than what you would get at a normal BMI.

What Is The Effect Of BMI On Term Insurance Plans?

Your Body Mass Index (BMI) can affect your term insurance in various ways. Some of these ways are as follows¹ –

1. Additional Medical check-ups

If your BMI is either high or low, the insurance company might require you to undergo additional health check-ups to assess the medical risks. In such cases, the policy is usually issued based on the medical examination report.

2. Higher premiums

If the BMI is very high, the insurance company may charge an additional premium for the higher health risk which is indicated with a higher BMI.

3. Policy rejection

In cases where the BMI is extremely high and the insured is morbidly obese, the insurance company might also reject the proposal. In such cases, the policy will not be issued.

Should You Buy A Term Insurance Plan If Your BMI Is High?

Regardless of your BMI, you should assess how much a term plan can benefit your portfolio and the security of your loved ones when deciding whether or not to buy it.

For those with higher than or lower than standard/normal range of BMI scores, while your premiums might be high, your loved ones will be financially protected through a term plan in the unfortunate case of your loss Hence, there are multiple benefits of choosing term insurance plans when planning to secure the financial future of your loved ones.

Conclusion

Term insurance is one of the preferred ways to safeguard the finances of your loved ones in your absence. While your BMI can affect the premiums that are offered to you when you purchase a term plan, consider all the pros and cons of going for term insurance before you decide about adding it to your portfolio.

FAQs

1. Can a medical examination help mitigate the impact of a high BMI on term insurance premiums?

If the BMI is high, the insurance company might get a medical check-up done. If all medical parameters are good, the premium might not increase. However, in the case of high BMI, the health is considered to be at higher risk and even after a medical check-up, the premium might be affected. This is how your BMI may impact your Term Insurance Plan.

2. What happens if my BMI is higher than the ideal range?

If your BMI is higher than the ideal range, the premium of the term plan might increase. The insurance company might also need a medical check-up before issuing the policy. Moreover, in very high BMI cases, the policy might also get rejected.

Sources:

1. https://www.livemint.com/money/ask-mint-money/insurers-can-load-premiums-due-to-high-bmi-1547991865487.html

2. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/index.html#:~:text=Body%20mass%20index%20(BMI)%20is,square%20of%20height%20in%20meters

3. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/lifestyle/what-is-the-body-mass-index-bmi/

BJAZ-WEB-EC-05712/24