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Impact of Body Mass Index on Insurance Premium

You must have heard many reasons to take care of your health and maintain a healthy weight. So, you already know that maintaining a healthy body weight keeps you away from diseases. You are aware that it helps you stay more fit and active. But did you know that your weight, or rather its impact on your BMI, can also affect the insurance premium you pay?

Keeping that in mind, let’s get you familiarized with the concept of body mass index and its impact on your insurance premium.

What is body mass index?

The body mass index or BMI is a way to measure whether an individual has a healthy body weight or not. Think of it as an indicator that gives a comprehensive idea about the physical well-being of an individual. Some of the factors that are considered in this regard are age, gender, height, and weight.

As per the values obtained by using a BMI Calculator, an individual can be classified into one of the following groups:

  • Obese
  • Overweight
  • Underweight
  • Normal weight

If you have normal weight, then you have nothing to worry about except making sure that you maintain that weight. However, people belonging to the rest of the three categories must take better care of their health because there is a possibility for them to face medical problems further down the line.

You can calculate your own BMI using this formula: weight (kg) / [height (m)]2

Given below is how you can interpret your results:

BMI Interpretation
>18.5 Underweight
18.5 to 24.9 Normal
25 to 29.9 Overweight
<30 Obese

How can your BMI impact your insurance plans?

First off, it is difficult to find a suitable insurance plan when the BMI is high, regardless of your gender. Even your chosen insurance company will use that BMI calculator before offering you a health or term insurance policy. Now, if you have a normal weight, then expect to pay a lower premium. But as your weight goes towards overweight and obese, the premium keeps increasing. Similarly, being underweight might also make you attract a higher premium.

The basic idea behind taking this measure is simple. When you deviate from the normal weight, you are at a higher risk of diseases. So, when you are overweight or obese, you might develop heart or kidney-related complications. On the other hand, an underweight person might also have some underlying diseases that might not have been diagnosed yet.

It means that an overweight or underweight individual has a higher chance of making an early insurance claim than someone of normal weight. Thus, your insurance company has a fixed percentage by which the premium is increased when you deviate in any direction from the normal weight range.

The bottom line

So, you need to start taking better care of your health. That’s not just because you will attract a good insurance premium. You need to keep a check on your weight to keep diseases at bay.

About the author

Terry Williams

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