Posts filed under 'Build'
Virtually all life insurance companies take your immediate family health history into consideration at some level. They don’t all view it the same and they certainly don’t all treat it the same, but it is in their guidelines and they seldom waiver.
This probably ticks people off far more than finding out something is wrong with their own health picture such as having high cholesterol on the life insurance exam or perhaps high blood pressure. Probably one of the toughest for a client to swallow is when a company penalizes them because a parent who smoked dies prior to age 60 of lung cancer when the client, having watched that whole scene, has never touched a cigarette. Another that is just about as tough a pill is when their rate is effected because their father died of a heart attack at age 48 after drinking, smoking and eating their way into the obesity hall of fame when they don’t smoke, don’t drink and exercise regularly.
So, is it fair? Well, the way I see that is if it happens to me, then no, but if I’m a life insurance underwriter, then yes. I have discussed this at length with underwriters and they understand that taking a black and white stance on family history will be unfair to some. But, any underwriting guideline that is black and white and produces the same result for a rate class for everyone, is going to be unfair to some.
Just a few examples of the latter and then back to family history. All companies use build charts and approve rates based on your build. They know that plenty of people who are 5′10, 250# live to ripe old ages, but they also know that at that weight the chances are much greater of having diabetes, heart disease and cancer. All companies test for cholesterol and approve rates that reflect your cholesterol numbers. They know that plenty of people with high cholesterol never develop heart disease or have heart attacks, but they know that the chances are greater of that happening if you have high cholesterol.
So, family history. Even though your father appeared to have done himself in by smoking, drinking and eating doesn’t mean that you are not genetically predisposed to heart disease. And just because you don’t smoke like your parent who died from lung cancer doesn’t mean that you aren’t genetically predisposed to cancer.
The good news is that, as I mentioned up front, not all companies share the same beliefs, and a good independent agent can usually find a company that will take most of the sting, if not all of it, out of any family history issues.
Bottom line. Rather than taking offense or trying to justify family history, ask your agent how they can take what you have and make it work for you.
August 20th, 2008
I have often written about the downside of life insurance underwriting of weight issues, but there actually an upside. Back when I was posting weekly about the reality TV shows Fat March and Biggest Loser, while I did point out the health issues that can be caused by obesity, I also provided some very good news when it comes to the prices that a few companies offer on people with weight issues.
Let’s face it. We live in a heavier America than I grew up in. That being a reality drives home the need for affordable life insurance for those who are overweight, even obese, but really don’t have any health issues. Gaining weight doesn’t generally impact your health adversely for some time. It is the years of your body working to accommodate all the extra pounds that eventually takes it’s toll. So, before that happens, or while you’re in the process of getting your weight under control, consider putting life insurance in force.
To kind of put this into context, let’s assume a 50 year old male is looking for $250,000 of 20 year term insurance. No health issues, but his build is 6′, 260#. With most companies that will be approved at a standard rate based on the average build chart. This surprises clients occasionally. Yes, companies have build charts and yes, your build does impact your rate class.
The best rate available for our client is $510 annually with Savings Bank Life. West Coast Life isn’t far behind at $542.50. But what if his weight happens to be 280#? Because you have knocked the back wall out of Savings Bank’s build chart their rate would jump to $735 annually. West Coast Life would still be at $542.50.
This is another one of those times, you guessed it, when you really need to have an independent agent who can shop all of the companies and find out where to accommodate both your budget and those extra pounds. Once you have that coverage in force, work on your weight and let your agent work on acquiring lower rates as you slim down.
Bottom line. Insurance is going to cost you more if you are overweight than the rates you see advertised, but don’t let that stop you from doing the right thing. Get coverage in force and know that your responsibilities are taken care of.
June 19th, 2008
We continue to get inquiries and continue to have success in finding affordable life insurance for people with a history of sleep apnea. This is another one of those areas where the majority of companies still have a knee jerk reaction built into their underwriting guidelines that produces either a highly rated or decline outcome.
This outcome could be appropriate in some cases of severe apnea combined with other risk factors such as morbid obesity and poorly controlled blood pressure. The problem is that the majority of companies don’t allow for the fact that there are different levels of severity and different levels of control. To put it simply, from a mortality impact standpoint there is a huge difference between poorly controlled severe sleep apnea with other risk factors, and, for lack of a better term, your garden variety well controlled mild sleep apnea with no other risk factors.
Generally speaking, from an underwriting standpoint, if the apnea is mild to moderate, well controlled by use of a cpap, and the user is compliant with use and followup, rates as good as preferred can be found. Preferred rates would obviously be contingent on the person meeting preferred guidelines in all other areas. Well controlled sleep apnea and a build of 6′0, 330#’s doesn’t get you there.
Bottom line. An independent agent should know what questions to ask and what companies to shop your business to in order to get the most bang for your life insurance buck.
May 21st, 2008
My vote for the biggest rub in life insurance underwriting is weight. Easily the most disgruntled life insurance client is when they are told that their insurance is going to cost more because they guessed their weight wrong, or they weren’t really 6’2, but 6’1 1/2 (which examiners round down, not up).
Insurance companies have build charts and they really do stick to them, especially when it comes to giving the coveted preferred plus rates. A good independent agent might be able to get an underwriter to forgive a pound or two if all other risk factors are good. Generally speaking though, if you don’t fit into the height and weight it takes for a certain rate class, well, that’s life. More weight. Less height. More money!!!
OK, let’s talk about how to work the system. Find out what your REAL height and weight are before you talk to an independent agent and don’t fudge. Don’t round yourself 1/2″ up. Tell the agent exactly how tall you are. Don’t round your weight off to the nearest 10 pounds. Tell them exactly what you weigh and when you checked it last. Tell them if it historically fluctuates and if it’s not big deal to shed a few pounds before the exam.
I swear if you asked 100 people what their weight is, 95 of them would come back with a round number like 170#, 180#, 200#, 250#, etc. 5 will provide a number that seems like they must know, like 193#. 2-3 of them actually will know what they weigh. This is particularly pronounced when people have let their weight get out of control. The higher their weight goes, the less they really check and the more likely they are to be off on their guess. When it comes to those who fit into the obesity category, it is not uncommon for their estimate to be off by 25# to 50#.
The impact on life insurance rates can be dramatic. There are companies out there with reasonably liberal build charts. This is why an independent agent is so important. He will steer you to the right company and away from the wrong company. If you are off 15#, it may well be that you would have been better off going to a different company.
Bottom line. Garbage in, garbage out. Your agent can only provide quotes that are as accurate as the information you provide.
April 6th, 2008
As discussed in my first post for Biggest Loser, NBC’s reality weight loss show, from a life insurance perspective, there is more to the picture than just weight. Life insurance rates are based on mortality assumptions, how long a person might expect to live. The problem with obesity is that it can lead to a host of collateral health issues .
I would also like to add that the Biggest Loser website has a blog done by Dr Jen Kerns. Dr Kerns will be answering health questions related to weight loss and I highly recommend that you follow her posts.
There is an assumption as I provide quotes that there are no underlying health issues. Because insurance companies reward long term weight loss, there will be an assumption that the weight loss has been kept off for more than a year. All life insurance quotes are for $250,000 of 20 year term. I will be using the company that will make the best offer at any given height and weight. All quotes will be yearly premiums.
The show started with 18 participants and is down to 16. Below is a list of their height and weight at the beginning of the show, their weight at the end of the second episode, the best price available for the life insurance when they started and the best price currently.
Jerry – 62, 5’11, Start 297#, now 256 - Start quote $3681.00, now $2412.00
Kae – 27, 5’2, Start 225#, now 200 - Start quote $310.00, now $225.00
Neil – 25, 6’2, Start 421#, now 389 - Start quote $560.00, now $441.00
Nicole, 26, 5’6, Start 279#, now 265 - Start quote $344.00, now $310.00
Patty, 34, 5’8, Start 280#, now 265 - Start quote $449.00, now $388.00
Ryan, 29, 5’10, Start 374#, now 349 - Start quote $610.00, now$544.00
Red Team
Amy, 28, 5’6, Start 297#, now 285 - Start quote $413.00, still $413.00
Bryan, 29, 6’0, Start 346#, now 325 - Start quote $544.00, now $430.00
David, 31, 6’0, Start 368#, now 344 - Start quote $622.00, now $580.00
Phil, 27, 6’5, Start 403#, now 372 - Start quote $513.00, now $453.00
Black Team
Bill, 40, 5’8, Start 334#, now 301 - Start quote $912.00, now $794.00
Hollie, 28, 5’7, Start 255#, now 242 - Quote $319.00, now $225.00
Isabeau, 21, 5’8, Start 298#, now285 - Start quote $344.00, still $344.00
Jez, 24, 5’8, Start 345#, now 320 - Start quote $570.00, now $520.00
Jim, 40, 5’7, Start 361#, now 334 - Start quote $1148.00, now $1078.00
Julie, 34, 5’2, Start 218#, now 213 - Start quote $388.00, still $388.00
Some dramatic changes in weight and rates, and more importantly how the participants feel and feel about themselves.
Some of the rate changes may seem exceptionally large in comparison to the weight loss and that will occur when a person reaches a build that moves them from one company to another based on build charts. Also keep in mind that not all weight loss will result in an immediate rate decrease. Build charts can span as much as 20-30 pounds per rate class.
Bottom line. Doing something about the excess weight is doing something about recapturing life and longevity. Obesity carries too many chances for collateral health issues.
September 19th, 2007
After being beat up by a body mass index calculator yesterday, I have found an ally in my new found health problem. While life insurance underwriters still take a stance that obesity and some of it’s ugly cousins, diabetes and heart disease, are not going to get you the best rates, a fat advocate popped out nowhere.
A science article in the New York Times claimed the fat high ground today and brought to light the fact that fat is an essential part of our body, not unlike the liver. Why then, if fat is so vital to our body, would “doctors vacuum out something like two million pounds of fat from the thighs, bellies, buttocks, jowls and man-breasts of 325,000 people a year”? Vanity? An attempt at de-evolution?
According to Bruce M. Spiegelman of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, “if you had no fat cells, no adipose tissue, you’d still be out of energy balance, and you’d put the excess energy somewhere else,” he said, at which point really bad things can happen. Consider the lipodystrophy diseases, rare metabolic disorders in which the body lacks fat tissue and instead dumps its energy overruns in that jack-of-all-organs, the liver, causing extreme liver swelling, liver failure and sometimes liver-bearer death.”
So, what Mr Spiegelman is suggesting is that fat is protecting our body from food produced energy going to the wrong places. Well, I’m all for that. But, isn’t he also saying that if we don’t cram quite so much energy into our bodies, our body would need less fat?
I was hanging in there, trying to seriously consider all of this, and then Natilie Angier, the author of the article dropped one that left me reeling. Let me preface her comment by saying that I sold all of my stock in evolutionary biologists a long time ago. She said “Indeed, evolutionary biologists have proposed that our relative plumpness compared with our closest nonhuman kin, the chimpanzee, may help explain our relative braininess. Even a lean male athlete with a body fat content of 8 percent to 10 percent of total body mass (half the fat found on the average nonobese, non-Olympic American man) is still a few percentage points more marbled than a wild male chimpanzee, and scientists have suggested that our distinctive adipose stores help ensure that our big brains will be fed even when our cupboards go bare.”
Bottom line. I am only smarter than a chimpanzee because of my body mass index. On a more serious note, as I mentioned yesterday, life insurance companies use build charts that are much kinder than the BMI calculator that I used. Weight is a factor in life insurance rates, but not all companies look at it the same. A good independent agent can steer you in the direction of the best possible rates for your particular build.
August 8th, 2007
Gosh. I thought it was going to be a pretty normal Monday. Feeling good. Got to play some golf over the weekend. Then MSN shook up my world by letting me know that I am overweight.
Just for giggles I clicked on a body mass index calculator on MSN’s diet and fitness page. I have to admit, because I deal with overweight issues and how they affect life insurance, I am somewhat conscious of my weight. Based on life insurance build charts I would certainly qualify (if not for a few other issues), for any company’s best rate. At 5′10″ and 175# I am feeling pretty good and good about myself.
Until MSN. According to them, with my build, I have a body mass index (BMI) of 25.1. Anything over 25.0 is overweight. I don’t feel overweight. I’m pretty sure my wife would tell me if I look overweight. If not her, I’m sure one of the kids would would find some unmerciful way to break the news.
Bottom line. We should all be glad that MSN is not in the insurance business. I would have to assume that they wouldn’t offer their best rates to an overweight person such as myself. That’s brutal.
August 6th, 2007
At least one life insurance company out there has come to grips with and made a positive allowance for the fact that as we get older, most of us tend to weigh a little more than we did in our 40’s and 50’s. This is certainly not to say that Prudential has taken a strong stance in favor of obesity, but rather they have taken a reasonable stance (a rare occurrence with insurance companies) on a fairly normal life/age change.
In most cases if you are 65 or older Prudential’s build guidelines can make a one to two rate class difference over other companies. This means that the rate you pay could potentially be 30% or more lower because of their allowance for higher weights.
Just to put some numbers to what this means, let’s assume a 66 year old is applying for $100,000 of 15 year term insurance. He doesn’t have any health problems and has a great family history. His height is 6′ and his weight 225#.
With Prudential he would qualify for their best rate at $989 annually. The next best rate would be with Banner Life at $1367.00. This is huge, especially for someone who may have been penalyzed due to build prior to age 65. It could open the door to locking in lower rates when you most need them, at retirement. This could fit in perfectly with people that are looking at a life insurance supplement to maximize their retirement options.
Bottom line. If you are 65 or older and not getting the best rates due to build, call an independent agent and find out if The Rock might provide your best option.
August 1st, 2007
Apparently there is a significantly better chance of suffering a stroke if you live in the south, with Mississippi leading the way. The percentage of people who have strokes in Mississippi is about twice the national average. I did some relief work there after Katrina and I can tell you that the heat and humidity alone can almost kill a Rocky Mountain guy, but apparently that isn’t the reason for the high incidence of strokes.
The study I read cited the usual risk factors for stroke, only in more abundance in the south. Obesity, diet, diabetes and lack of exercise seemed to be the thread that was more common in the south than the country in general.
Now before someone starts screaming at me, remember that I am just the messenger. The same risk factors play heavily into strokes everywhere. They also seem to be common with heart disease and obesity, diet and lack of exercise contribute to type 2 diabetes.
The life insurance underwriting common thread here is a tendency to not take care of yourself. Remember that avoiding risk factors is the best way to good life insurance rates. If you are obese, the life insurance build charts will raise your rates. If you don’t eat right and don’t exercise, your labs are probably going to show abnormalities like high cholesterol. The same combination can result in high blood pressure. Are you detecting a vicious circle here?
Bottom line, do what your mom told you to do, unless she was wrong! Eat right. Exercise. Don’t smoke. Drink in moderation if you drink.
Just a quick commendation of an insurance company that just did something innovative. Genworth Life and Annuity (formerly First Colony) has been picking up part of the cost of having a stroke screening done by a company that travels all over the country doing screenings. They check the carotid arteries. They check for anheurisms and they also check for peripheral vascular disease. More insurance companies should invest in the health of their customers.
May 18th, 2007
Probably the most disgruntled life insurance clients get is when they are told that their insurance is going to cost more because their estimate of their weight was off, or they weren’t really 5′9, but 5′8 1/2 (which examiners round down, not up).
All insurance companies have build charts and they really do stick to them. A good independent agent might be able to get an underwriter to fudge a pound or two if all other risk factors are good, but generally speaking, if you don’t fit into the height and weight it takes for a certain rate class, you will be bumped to the next higher rate class. More weight. Less height. More money!!!
My advice. Find out what your REAL height and weight are before you talk to an insurance agent and don’t fudge. Don’t round your 1/2″ up. Tell them agent exactly how tall you are. Don’t round your weight off to the nearest 10 pounds. Tell them exactly what you weigh and when you checked it last. I swear if you asked 1000 people what their weight is, 950 of them would come back with a round number like 170#, 180#, 200#, 250#, etc. 50 will provide a number that seems like they must know, like 193#. 25 of them actually will know what they weigh.
This is particularly problematic when people have let their weight get out of control. The higher their weight goes, the more unpleasant it is to check it and the more the tendency is to be off on their guess. It is not uncommon for obese people to be off by 25# to 50#.
The impact on life insurance rates can be dramatic. There are companies out there with reasonably liberal build charts. If you tell an agent your height and weight he is going to make a recommendation based on that and get you the best rate based on build charts. If you are off 15#, it may well be that you would have been better off going to a different company. So at that point you either accept a higher rate or start the process over.
Bottom line. Know your build and don’t fudge. The examiner is going to give the insurance companies the facts.
May 11th, 2007
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