Been Denied Of Life Insurance Before? Get Approved With Hi BMI’s Help

Being diagnosed to be overweight or obese can already be a frustrating discovery. However, being declined of life insurance because of your weight makes it even more difficult for you to accept. While most life insurance companies charge you high premiums because of your weight, we at Hi BMI can help you find the carrier that understands your needs and premiums that won’t hurt your budget. If you are thinking that your case is not that rare, you are not alone.

The Centers for Disease Control found out that over 35% of Americans above the age of 20 are diagnosed to be obese. Meanwhile, 69% of them are found to be overweight. If you are tired of getting declined by numerous carriers, read this article and we’ll take you by the hand to get your application approved.

How Does My BMI Affect My Health Rating?

The life insurance industry relies on your BMI to determine if you are likely to develop any long-term illness.  The normal BMI sits in the range of 18.5-24.9. If you have reached 25, this means that you are overweight. Once your BMI reaches around 30-39, you are now categorized to be obese. Anything above this range is listed to be morbidly obese.

The important thing to remember is that not all companies use the same chart to determine your health class.To further assess your health classification, an interview and a medical examination will be conducted.

During your interview, you will be asked a series of questions from your personal information down to your health status. Be sure to be honest regarding your medical condition and your weight. Being dishonest in your interview will cause discrepancies once the results of your medical examination tell otherwise. This will result to a pricier premium, or even lead to a decline.

Your medical examiner will be forwarding your results to the carrier you are applying life insurance for. This way, the underwriters will carefully assess your health class rating and present you with the corresponding premium.

Your Health Rating and Approvability

Are you diagnosed to be overweight or thinking that you are? You might be eligible to four health ratings. These are the Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard Plus and Standard. These health class represents different weight categories and health conditions each individual can belong to. If you have pre-existing health conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, heart attack or stroke- your health rating might be a little different.

Preferred- This health class is composed of individuals with optimal health with only some minor issues such as a small increase in glucose or cholesterol levels. If you’ve been exercising well and maintaining a good diet, you might be classified to Preferred.

Standard Plus- You are still in good health but have occasional, isolated cases of health issues that deterred you from being qualified with Preferred.  If you have a family history of blood pressure, this is the health class you might be listed in.

Standard- You have average health and a normal life expectancy of up to 70 years of age. If you have minor health issues such as varying blood pressure and blood glucose levels, you most likely will be rated in this health class.

Sub-standard Rates- Diagnosed to be obese and do not qualify into any of these health classes? You can still be insured and approved for this kind of life insurance. While this type of health rating can be a little costly than those mentioned above, we at Hi BMI can help you shop for the right policy that best suits your interest.

High-Risk Life Insurance For Overweight Individuals

What if you exceeded the measurement of weight that’s allowed to the health rating you are classified to? This is why it’s great to work with an independent agent that would look at high-risk insurance options for you at only a fraction of the cost. Otherwise, you’ll have to buy a policy that can only cover for you for accidental death.

Even if you are classified to be overweight and high-risk, we can help you find the best life insurance companies that can possibly offer you life insurance coverage with a premium that’s agreeable to you. After all, not all companies use the same chart to measure your height and weight.

With Hi BMI’s access to dozens of top-rated life insurance carriers, we can shop for the right policy that best serves you and your family’s interest.

What Type Of Life Insurance Policy Should I Get?

The real question is, how long do you need it and what type of coverage do you really need. In this section, we’ve listed the types of policies that might fit your ideals.

Term Life Insurance- This is the most basic type of life insurance out there that you can purchase. This type of life insurance can give you pure death benefit protection. However, this does not build up cash value just like GUL and permanent life insurance. This policy is the most affordable and most recommended for younger applicants that are in good health.

If you have children that are around the ages 0-15, this makes it ideal as you are raising a young family. Given that the premiums are relatively cheaper, you can efficiently balance your purchase with other expenses you have. Once your children have moved out of your family own and became financially-stable on their own, you can ask your carrier for your term life insurance’s convertibility feature.  This way, you can convert it to a permanent life insurance which builds up cash value and will be paid out to your beneficiaries at the event of your death.

You can choose to purchase term life insurance for 10-40 years. Term life insurance premiums remain the same throughout the whole policy.

Universal Life Insurance- If you need level death benefit and a level premium that covers longer than a term life insurance- this is the best policy you could purchase. This is loved by individuals who prefer varying payments at times and adjust their coverage from ages 85 to 125. With a Universal Life Insurance, your death benefits can be paid in a lump sum or through cash installments to your beneficiaries. While you can withdraw or loan money from this insurance, you must keep in mind that accessing cash value might affect the latter years of this policy. This happens if the policy is not funded to the whole value it is intended to accumulate.

Whole Life Insurance- This type of life insurance is the direct opposite of term life insurance. This policy does not end at any age and will likely cover you for as long as you live. Whole Life Insurance grows in cash value. This separates it from the term life insurance, which is tax-deferred and accessible tax-free through a loan.

What Can I Do To Help My Next Approval?

Yup, here we are on that part almost everyone wants to know. And no, this would not require you to do strict ketogenic diets and religiously do cardio every single day. Getting approved for a life insurance policy shouldn’t take hours hitting the gym.

Here are Five Ways For You To SURELY Get Approved:

Lose Weight Safely

Losing about 2-3 pounds before the date of your medical examination is A-ok. However, dropping so much weight in a period not longer than 12 months can be a not-so-ideal aim for you. Once the life insurance carrier finds out that you have dropped weight over the course of 12 months, they’ll likely add half of your weight back to your measurements.

For example, your medical records show that you are around 160 pounds last year. On the exact examination date, the physician finds you to be in 150 pounds. You will be recorded to still weigh 155 pounds and be classified under the same health class.

Monitor your Blood Glucose and Blood Pressure

It’s time for you to try to focus on improving your blood work. Raising your HDL or good cholesterol levels with the help of avocado, salmon, and nuts can be a great idea. Leafy greens spinach, kale, broccoli, chard, and salads can help lower both your cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

Apples, oranges and a glass of wine for dinner times help your HDL levels stay in good amount. Same goes with olive oil, oats, grains, orange juice, and peanut butter. Best to stay away from sugary, salty and fatty foods as they can all elevate your bad cholesterol and blood glucose levels.

No to Smoking and Alcohol Abuse

Smokers do pay pricier rates, so it’s best to stay away from smoking, for good. Smoking not only gives you a high blood pressure and lead to hypertension, nicotine constricts the passage of blood, resulting in plaque buildup on your arteries. Also, smoker applicants are often classified to higher premiums for the probability of them developing chronic lung diseases and heart ailments alike.

Staying away from any alcoholic substance about 2 to 3 weeks before your medical examination is prescribed. This is the last chance you get to detoxify your blood, and putting in alcohol to your bloodstream is a no-no. The reason is, the examiner might put you under the health class rating of alcoholic applicants. You might not want that, as they also pay a higher premium than normal health classes.

Follow Your Doctor’s Orders

Nothing but the golden rule in getting yourself approved of the life insurance policy you are applying for. Make sure to heed all your physician’s advice about your diet, your lifestyle, your medication and how to take good care of your health. In your medical examination, you will be asked a series of questions about how you have incorporated your doctor’s advice to your lifestyle- make sure you do.

Remember, not paying attention to your health does have a lot of negative returns. It will surely hurt your pockets not to prioritize your own well-being. If you have been declined numerous times, we do understand where you are coming from. We’ve had tons of people coming to us telling us they’ve lost hope of ever getting them approved- and we have helped them be approved! Hi BMI’s access to dozens of top-rated life-insurance carriers will assure you that you have lots of options you can choose from. Reach out to us, and we’ll get you the right policy, for the best price.