WHY TERM LIFE INSURANCE IS A GREAT CHOICE FOR OVERWEIGHT INDIVIDUALS (UPDATED 2019!)
OVERWEIGHT, AND HAVE BEEN DECLINED OF LIFE INSURANCE? WE CAN HELP
Are you diagnosed to be overweight and worried about not finding any life insurance policy that fits your needs?
Great news is, there is hope. A better news is, you just came to the right place and the right guys – HIBMI. Though it is true that your Body Mass Index directly affects rates and prices, but getting affordable rates are not impossible. We at HiBMI can help you find a life insurance policy that fits your needs and budget. HiBMI has access to multiple insurance companies. Keep your options open. We can shop for the best policy with a premium you can afford.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 35% of Americans above ages 20 are classified to be obese. 69% of them are overweight. In this article, Hi BMI will walk you through the life insurance that works for overweight individuals.
HEALTH RATING AND BMI- How Does It Affect my Premium?
Health Ratings are classification that group people with similar characteristics to determine risk class and price of the policy.
When you apply for health insurance, you are assessed based on your age, weight, medical history, and current condition. You may also be evaluated in terms of your medical exam. Driving and credit records may also be considered.
Once all information such as your family history, driving history, health, behavior, medical history, finances, location and the like are taken into account, the underwriter rates you. The rating given is based on the underwriter’s prediction on how long you will live considering your data.
Even though you are overweight, you are still typically eligible within the four health ratings. But the ratings you will get may not be as high as the level of people within the normal weight range. If you have a pre-existing health condition that comes with your weight issue or if you smoke – your health rating might be lower. A lower health rating means a higher premium for your policy.
There are about 12 to 15 health class ratings for most companies. The first four classes are health ratings and those that come after as table ratings. These ratings come in two: one for non-smokers and the other for smokers or tobacco users. If you have used cigarettes or pipes, nicotine products, snuff or chew tobacco within the last 12 months, you fall under the smoker rating. There may be slight difference per company but standards for each classification are somewhat similar in general.
HEALTH RATINGS – Kinds and Who are Classified Under Each?
There are four health ratings namely, Preferred Plus, Preferred, Standard and Standard Plus. The higher your rating, the lower your premium for your policy.
Preferred Plus is the best health rating. Being the highest rating, it has the lowest premium offered by the carrier. This is given to individuals whose weight are within the recommended guidelines, has excellent health and no health risk factors such as a family history of illness.
You are classified to Preferred if you are of optimal health. Some minor issues like a slight increase in your glucose or cholesterol levels, for instance may be tolerated as long as it is controlled. You fall in this category if you have a family history of an illness, or is exposed in high-risk situations due to your job or hobbies. The ratings are 20 to 30% higher than Preferred Plus.
Standard Plus is given to you if you have with good health but has some factors like excessive weight and others that didn’t allow you to qualify for the preferred category.
For Standard ratings, you qualify as long as you have average health and has the normal life expectancy. You may have minor health issues like being overweight, has fluctuating blood pressure and blood glucose levels, and family history of premature death.
SUB-STANDARD RATES or TABLE RATINGS – High-risk Life Insurance for Overweight Individuals
If you are diagnosed to be obese or has below average health and don’t fit into these categories, do not lose hope. You can still get insured and approved for a life insurance called ”Sub-Standard Rates”.
Substandard life insurance caters to health conditions and high-risk cases. This includes people with DUIs, hazardous occupation, alcoholism and smoking habits.
These sub-standard rates or table ratings are categorized based on the risk you may have from a certain condition. Some insurance companies have table ratings that allow them to make a niche for a specific condition. They treat these conditions favorably allowing you to get approved.
Insurance companies differ in their risk guidelines and they don’t use the same chart to measure your height and weight. Thereby, the formula to getting approved and even enjoying the lowest rates is to find the company that greatly favors your condition.
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.
We at Hi BMI knows and has access to help you with that! Hi BMI’s has 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 well.
While this might be more costly than the other health ratings due to a higher risk, we at Hi BMI help you find the policy that fits your ideal premium cost.
Take note: In case you receive a substandard rating because you have a high-risk occupation or you have extreme hobbies, insurers may reconsider after you have withdrawn from participating in the dangerous activities you are exposed to. But, in cases that the applicant has a chronic health issue, it would be a little harder for the rating to be removed.
In very rare cases that the insurer reduces a rating and later finds out that the risk reduction was from a misrepresentation, the carrier may contest your death claim and charge additional premiums before your beneficiaries are paid out your death benefit.
TERM LIFE INSURANCE vs. PERMANENT LIFE INSURANCE for OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE
Term Life Insurance is a top choice for most people nowadays. This is because it fits the bill as term life insurance comes more affordable than permanent life insurance.
Apart from that, if you are planning to shed that weight, it is best to get insured under a term life insurance policy. After getting insured, you can work your way in losing weight. Then, you can get a permanent policy when you have been classified into a lower weight class and enjoy lower premium.
Here are the other reasons why term life insurance for overweight individuals is a better, more economical option than most of the policies.
TO REPLACE INCOME
You may be the breadwinner and have family members that depend mainly on your income. This might be the reason why you want to get insured in the first place. Besides, it’s best to look after the welfare of your family for them to live comfortably should there be changes in life situations.
Term life insurance is the best way to cover your potential income loss for your dependents. This covers your human capital, or simple, your ability to earn. If you are around your 20’s to 40 ’s, you have a higher income potential loss. It is in these ages where the blows hit the most since you have more working years compared to retired folks or those that are nearing retirement. To give you an overview, the best timeframe to replace your income is 7-12 years of your current earning.
Tip: Each person will have a different need. As Life insurance carriers will also have various caps and offers based on your age bracket and your earning capacity. This only means one thing, the younger you are applying for insurance, the higher the factor is allowed.
TO PAY OFF ANY MAJOR DEBT OBLIGATIONS
You wouldn’t want your family to have financial difficulties in an already difficult time of grief. Life insurance is a great way to pay off the debts that you owe. There are some types of debts that you can “get away with” by the time you pass away, called as non-transferable debts. However, most debts will be handled by your estate or will be left to be handled by a secondary entity just like your spouse.
A mortgage is the best example of the debts that can be transferred to a second entity. Think about how much more is needed to completely pay for your house loan? This is an important consideration is calculating how much you need to leave enough to fend off even just a portion of your mortgage. Add to this hefty prices from insurance, taxes, inflation and a costly cost of living. With this, you are assured that your family has a roof on their heads, children study at a good college and so on.
Tip: Does this debt need 30 more years to be paid off entirely? Matching the term duration to the length of time you need to pay off debt can save you thousands of dollars. Once you purchase a home that is about 20 years to pay in your mortgage contract, it’s best to get a 20-year term so you can save up from expensive premiums.
TO MAKE BUSINESS ACQUISITION EASY
Both term and universal life insurance are ideal to make business acquisition process a little more smooth-flowing.
A buy or sell agreement is done. It is the process where business partners plan ahead of what to do with the company or group of companies if one or more of the stakeholders pass away before the property is handed down to another entity. This agreement is also done to help them determine how to dissolve the business properly.
Tip: Choosing the policy type in this situation is mostly depending on the type of business, the business model and how your company is recognized and laid out by the federal law.
Once purchasing a life insurance, it is best to work with us, Hi BMI and team up with a legal professional to get the matters sorted out lawfully. We can talk about how you can settle your payments in accordance to the law.
COVERING UP YOUR SBA LOANS
If you are running a small business underfunded or funded by borrowed money, term life insurance works well in settling your loan.
In case you are borrowing money in the form of an SBA loan, being insured for a term life policy will save you loads of time and effort to get approved of a loan. Most lending companies will likely demand and choose loan applicants who have a life insurance in place. The death benefit will be earmarked to the lending firm to wait for approval.
Tip: Term life insurance can effectively cover up your loan’s end date. Matching the duration of your term life insurance policy to the length of when the loan will be completely paid will decrease your premiums. Lending institutions vary in the amount of time they give people the loans they needed. Sometimes, it depends on their business industry or the type of loan you applied for.
It is also highly advisable to keep your business insurance separate from your personal life insurance. In most cases, people are able to save up much more after buying a life insurance of their own at a certain death benefit amounting for price breaks. These individuals prefer to the list the amount higher than the principal loan versus the amount to the family.
If your approval is taking too long because of your health class (which will likely to happen with any life insurance carrier), you should consider a no exam life insurance policy Sometimes, life insurance approval takes quite long and your loan date might not intersect the date. Getting a no-exam policy will be lightning-fast.
GOING THROUGH WITH DIVORCE
Depending on the state, some spouses should have an entitled personal life insurance for the benefit of the other spouse after the divorce case has been settled.
There are reasons behind this requirement, but the number one would be to be able to support the children and a payment for the alimony. If the spouse who should give child support passes away, the counterpart would be left without the death benefits.
Tip: Life insurance for overweight individuals helps in this not-so-inviting situation. Life insurance coverage can provide quick cash to replace the future cash flows that are intended to be received if the spouse lives on and continued paying the child support.
One size does not fit all in life insurance. Every family is different. However, most families meet their needs with a mix of term and permanent life insurance. That’s why it is crucial to work with an independent life insurance advisor, they will help you find the right blend of life insurance if you are overweight.
I am Overweight. How Do I Get An Affordable Coverage?
Remember, classifying to one health class isn’t entirely about BMI. The life insurance carrier you are applying to will review your interview and medical examination results to calculate premiums. Making a few changes on your lifestyle, diet and exercise can definitely help to reduce the costs of your premium.
Stop smoking. If you are a smoker, expect that you are to pay higher rates when you are purchasing your life insurance plans. Truth be told, smokers pay twice the amount for life insurance with the same coverage a non-smoker gets.
Here’s why: This is because smoking increases blood pressure that can later lead to more serious complications such as lung cancer, COPD, and emphysema. You are also a candidate for developing numerous heart diseases- such as atherosclerosis (plaque build up on the arteries), heart attack, and stroke.
Eat Healthy. Avoid sugary, oily and fatty diets. Consuming vegetables, specifically micro-vegetables and keeping away from liquor about two to three weeks before your medical examination is a good start. Also, minimize your caffeine consumption.
Here’s why: You might want to avoid foods that can increase your blood glucose and blood pressure levels. Caffeine can increase your heart rate and your blood pressure levels.
Track Calorie Intake. It is best to keep track of how much calories you take in.
Here’s why: Tracking calorie intake helps avoid the increase in your cholesterol levels as well as your blood pressure. Losing a few pounds about two to three weeks before your scheduled date of medical examination is a good rule of thumb.
Avoid drastic weight loss. Once your life insurance carrier finds out that you’ve flushed around 10 pounds of weight or more within the past 12 months, they might add back half of the weight you have shed.
For example, you weigh around 150 lbs about 12 months ago your medical exam. Came the date of your medical exam and you are measured to in 140 lbs. Some life insurance carriers will add back 5 lbs and classify you to the health class where your previous weight belongs to.
Here’s why: Don’t worry about the pricey premiums. If in case you’ve lost weight in the future, you are always entitled to the ability to reapply again for better rates.
Be honest in your medical examination interview. Lying would not take you anywhere in a cheaper health class. Be sure to tell your interviewer the truths about your weight and your medical history. If you have been diagnosed with a certain pre-existing illness, be sure that the interviewer knows about it too. It would be a good choice to bring your doctor’s prescription and past medical records ( those that you had for the past 12 months).
Here’s why: Some applicants lie on their interview just to end up having different results from their medical examination. This might only incur you a bigger cost and might even lead to a decline in your application
Work with an independent agent. Working with an independent agent like HI BMI helps you save hundreds if not, thousands on your life insurance policy.
Here’s why: Independent agents like Hi BMI does not sell you a product that is specifically made by one insurance company. We don’t charge commissions or entice you with too-good-to-be-true policies. In fact, Hi BMI has access to multiple insurance companies and assures you that your options are open. We shop to get what’s best for YOU, YOUR FAMILY and YOUR POCKETS!
Get a quote from us or call us at 386-246-2900 and we will walk you through the journey of getting insured.
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