Life Insurance Quote FAQ : Term Life Insurance - The Cost of Obesity

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The stereotypical image of the overweight American is no longer a laughing matter. As more and more people fall into the overweight bracket, the country is rapidly turning into an obese nation! Alarming statistics scream out that the United States can be considered one of the world's most overweight nations and over 50 million of Americans are medically 'obese'. Apart from these numbers, obesity affects lives in numerous ways. Being overweight shortens your life expectancy and increases the odds of disease. Obese people also spend more money on medical bills and prescription drugs. Obesity and with it ' heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and the like are only getting worse as time goes by. Health reasons and vanity might be two of the biggest reasons to lose weight. From feeling better and looking better, another reason to reduce obesity is to qualify for better term life insurance rates. Few people realize how obesity affects insurance and many are left with sky-high rates without understanding the reasons for paying so much.

Insurance companies always look at the 'big picture' in terms of trends in health and lifestyle of the population at the time. Quotes are calculated on the basis of a number of factors that will ultimately affect your life span. Being overweight has a direct link with your health and can therefore affect your term life insurance rates. The longer their clients live, the lesser the possibility of insurance companies paying out in case of death. Therefore, term life insurance quotes regard excessive weight as a danger to health and life expectancy.

Anything higher than the 'healthy weight' limit for your height, age, and sex is cause enough for your insurance premiums to increase. Insurance companies treat weight as a good way to judge health conditions and predict future medical issues. That said, this does not imply that to qualify for an affordable policy, one has to be rake thin and free of illness. However, anyone who is harming oneself in terms of excess weight is considered a liability in this industry.

Therefore, if you are planning to take out an insurance policy, it might be wise to lose some weight first. You could wait for some time before applying for a policy and use this time to reach a more healthy weight. If you already have an existing policy, most insurance companies, also view the fact that you have lost weight and are working towards being healthier, positively. At any point of time during the term of your policy, you can request a new medical exam. This is beneficial to those who wish to re-evaluate their premiums and maybe move into a more affordable premium category.

Nowadays, insurance companies have also begun offering incentives for losing weight by offering better life insurance rates if you can prove a healthier lifestyle. A win-win situation for both parties concerned as insurance companies have healthier clients who live longer and individuals who reap the benefits of losing weight. In the end, losing weight and changing your life can not only improve your health but also save you a whole lot of money in the long run.

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