Life insurance for overweight people can sometimes be a struggle to find but with the right help it may still be possible to find competitive cover.

Being overweight could potentially lead to health problems in later life and for this reason life insurance companies may charge more to provide cover to someone who is overweight because there may be a greater chance of a claim during the term of a life insurance policy compared to someone who is not overweight.

Life insurance companies use Body Mass Index (BMI), a ratio of height and weight, as a guide for determining if someone is overweight but not all insurance companies use the same guidelines.

For example, some insurance companies may charge more to cover someone with a high BMI than others and some might even decline cover altogether.

Mainstream Insurance companies can insure overweight people up to a certain BMI and currently Friends Life will consider people with a BMI up to 48 for life cover and up to 40 for critical illness cover and Ageas will allow up to a BMI of 50 for life insurance.

Some specialist insurers may be able to offer life cover with a BMI of up to 60 provided there are no other health issues but the cost will be higher.

BMI is a ration of height and weight and this is not always very fair because some people are very muscular. Some life insurance companies will as for a persons waist or dress size to determine if they are overweight or just well built.

If you have been turned down due to your BMI by one insurance company, it doesn’t necessarily mean you wont be able to get cover.

Calculate your BMI with the BBC BMI Calculator

Having a low BMI can also sometimes cause a problem for life insurance companies because being underweight can also lead to problems in later life.

Someone with an average BMI who is not overweight and has no other medical conditions will probably be able to have life insurance at ‘standard’ rates.

A lot of life insurance companies will still offer ‘standard’ rates to people with an above average BMI who are only slightly overweight.

If there are other medical conditions combined with a high BMI it can make finding competitive life insurance even harder.

We work closely with a firm of financial advisers who have direct access to the underwriters of life insurance providers and can discuss specific conditions to find an insurance company that can offer the most competitive cover from the life insurance marketplace.

The advisers we use will research the market, speak to underwriters and do what they can to find you cover and they don’t charge any fees.

By using the services of advisers it can save the time it would take to investigate all of the insurers available.

Being overweight doesn’t mean it is not possible to have life insurance but it does mean that it could cost more. How much more will depend on the insurer.

Some life insurance companies will also review the price of cover if a previously overweight policy holder loses weight and reduces their BMI.