Rising life and health costs for over-weights

According to recent figures, a quarter of children are overweight before they have even started School. By age 11, this figure is one in three. (Daily Mail 23/2/08) As we get older, most people tend to put on a little weight; it comes from getting less exercise, eating too much of the ‘wrong’ kind of foods and (probably) from being rather more contented with life as we become better established.

But if you would like to become less satisfied with life, why not think about the cost of insurance? As we get older, the cost of the life and health insurance we need to protect school fee payments and other expenses naturally gets higher. The older we are the greater the statistical risk of dying, or of becoming ill; so naturally premiums go up.

Of course, this applies mainly to those plans, such as private medical insurance, that are renewed every year. Long-term arrangements like term life insurance and ‘permanent health insurance’ usually have their premiums fixed at the outset and then remain constant. The cost is determined by your age and state of health (sometimes your occupation, too) at the time you start the plan.

This means that getting your insurance in place as early as possible is a good idea, if you wish to keep costs down later on in life.

But while insurance companies have always included height and weight as factors in determining the cost of life and health insurance, the current trend towards counting Body Mass Index (BMI) is making this easier for them to use, but also for us to understand. The position is simple. If you have a BMI of less than 18.5, you are ‘underweight’ (which is not a good thing); between 18.5 and 24.5 is ‘ideal’; from 25 to 29.9 is ‘overweight’ (which probably include a lot more of us than we would care to admit) while above 30 is ‘obese’ and over 40 … well let’s not go there.

You can find your own BMI by visiting the NHS direct website and it can make salutary reading; not least because some insurance companies now increase premiums significantly for people above the obese level.

Some people have apparently started to lie about their height and weight on application forms. But this is of little value if there is a claim, because insurance companies are likely to check and if they find they have been mislead (especially if it is by a significant margin and the applicant must have been aware of the discrepancy) they are quite entitled to reject it.

Fortunately, this – unlike medical conditions such as diabetes – can be addressed by simple lifestyle changes. And the benefits could be more than just saving on life and health insurance costs. By eating more healthily and getting adequate exercise, we can not only feel better but also enhance our life expectancy. Giving up smoking will also help to keep insurance costs down by as much as 50% as well as reducing the risk of heart and other diseases.

It is not our role – or intention – to preach on the subject; but there are very good insurance reasons for thinking carefully about your BMI. After all, you want as much time as possible to enjoy the benefit of the investments you have made, while working, when you come to retire, don’t you?

It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. For further information, please contact your usual independent financial adviser.

NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE MAY BE VARIATIONS FOR THOSE LIVING IN SCOTLAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND.

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