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Life > Weight Impact

If you are overweight, but healthy, you still may have trouble buying life insurance. If your weight reaches certain levels, even if you're not obese, you'll have to pay more for life insurance premiums. The heavier you are, the more you'll pay.

Your age, medical history, lifestyle, and build are all taken into consideration on your application. Your build is your weight relative your height. The two factors are combined in tables to determine how much of a risk you pose. The more you weigh compared to your height, the higher your risk of health problems.

If you are only 10 pounds overweight, chances are you won't see any difference in your life insurance rates, but if you are severely overweight, you can expect to be paying more for premiums. With some companies, even ten to twenty pounds of extra weight may make you ineligible for preferred premium rates.

Some companies will still insure obese people by offering what is called a graded death benefit policy. It pays out different amounts depending on how long you live. The longer you survive, the more money will get paid out to your beneficiaries.

The following table was compiled by the American Medical Association, and it will give you an idea of the desirable weight range for your body type. Your insurance company may not use the same data, but it will be similar to what you are seeing here.

Desirable weight range

Height

Small frame

Medium frame

Large frame

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

Men

Women

5'1"

4'9"

123-129

99-108

126-136

106-118

133-145

115-128

5'2"

4'10"

125-131

100-110

128-138

108-120

135-148

117-131

5'3"

4'11"

127-133

101-112

130-140

110-123

137-151

119-134

5'4"

5'0"

129-135

103-115

132-143

112-126

139-155

121-137

5'5"

5'1"

131-137

105-118

134-146

115-129

141-149

125-140

5'6"

5'2"

133-140

108-121

137-149

118-132

144-163

128-144

5'7"

5'3"

135-143

111-124

140-152

121-135

147-167

131-148

5'8"

5'4"

137-146

114-127

143-155

124-138

150-171

134-152

5'9"

5'5"

139-149

117-130

146-158

127-141

153-175

137-156

5'10"

5'6"

141-152

120-133

149-161

130-144

156-179

140-160

5'11"

5'7"

144-155

123-136

152-165

133-147

159-183

143-164

6'0"

5'8"

147-159

126-139

155-169

136-150

163-187

146-167

6'1"

5'9"

150-163

129-142

159-173

139-153

167-192

149-170

6'2"

5'10"

153-167

132-145

162-177

142-156

171-197

152-173

6'3"

5'11"

157-171

135-148

166-182

145-159

176-202

155-176

 
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