Height & Weight Charts for Life Insurance

How Underwriters Determine Life Insurance Rating
Insurance companies need to know as much about your health as possible, specifically when it comes to term life insurance because the entire business model is based on people living and companies not having to pay out death benefits.

Statistically, the healthier someone is, the less likely they are to die early. So when an insurer grants coverage to someone in great health, the statistical odds are in everyones favor: that person wont die early, and the insurer wont need to pay out the death benefit.

Now we can see why your weight & height can have such a big impact on life insurance rates. While they won’t show the entire picture of someone’s health, you can look at it and say, statistically, x and x health issues are on the horizon.

Other factors that affect life insurance rates include:

9. Occupation/hobbies
   Life insurance underwriters examine all of these factors, along with your current health, to assign you a specific rating which in turn helps determine your monthly premium.
   
   

Mortality Risks and Life Insurance Premiums
A person in good health is statistically likely to live longer than someone whos not in good health, which means that this person poses less of a risk to the insurer (in terms of paying out the death benefit, the reason runners or athletes pay less for life insurance).). Since the risk to the company is low, they are charged lower premiums.

A person who has health issues, on the other hand, is penalized for them, and this comes in the form of higher monthly premiums. Of course, its not really penalization, but how insurance companies cover their risk.

If a life insurance company offers coverage to people who have serious health problems, its taking on a big risk. The statistical likelihood that the insurer will need to pay out the death benefit is high. Therefore, they charge these customers higher premiums to cover their risk.

Bottom Line
Life insurance rating and acceptance by an insurer are greatly affected by your height & weight. But it’s good to know that being a little overweight or underweight doesn’t have a significant impact on your insurance rates – your rates might not be affected at all if you have good health other than a slightly abnormal BMI.