Reducing your life insurance premiums could mean reducing your weight

Life insurance cover is a very important type of insurance that can provide valuable protection, but for many people the premiums can be sky high, making it hard for them to benefit from this type of cover without paying through the nose. There are a number of factors that can affect the cost of cover, such as smoking and age, and another factor that can have a significant effect on the cost of life insurance cover is weight, with those considered very overweight or obese paying far more than those considered to be a healthy weight.

Insurance companies see those that are unhealthily overweight as higher risk consumers, the same as smokers, and see them as being at higher risk of suffering ill health and disease that could lead to untimely death within the term of the insurance policy. To insurance companies this means a higher risk of having to pay out on the policy, and in order to counteract this risk these insurers raise the cost of premiums for those in this category.

One Norwich Union spokesperson explained: "Overweight people are extremely sensitive as to how they are perceived, leading to periods of anxiety and even depression. The cost of life insurance cover has to reflect these additional risks." The rise in premiums for those that are overweight can be quite significant according to recent figures, and some experts state that consumers that are very overweight could dramatically reduce the cost of their premiums by getting down to a healthier weight.

However, many consumers are angry that they are perceived as being higher risk because of how much they weigh, with many stating that although they may be bigger than average they are still fighting fit.