Being overweight can lead to health problems in later life. For this reason life insurance companies may charge more to provide cover to someone who is overweight because there is potentially a greater chance of a claim during the term of an 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.

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

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.

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

Calculate your BMI with the BBC BMI Calculator

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.

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 it could cost more but how much more depends 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.