Quora Answer: Will Life Insurers Decline Coverage if You Are Obese?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Will life insurance companies reject you if you are obese?”

Not necessarily.  The insurer will likely send you for a medical.  The insurer will load the policy, offering you a modified terms of coverage, or decline to cover certain conditions such as heart attack.  But they will not reject you solely based on obesity.

We have to understand that there are many types of obesity, and the BMI alone may cause some people to be considered obese when they are not.  This is why there will be further investigation to clarify what type and level of obese you are.  And then, there is the family history, and the proneness to certain medical conditions.  Based on these, the underwriter decides loading, which increases the premiums, and coverage, which may be full, or not cover certain conditions.