Posts filed under 'Fat March'

Fat March Taking A Toll On Life Insurance Rates!

peoplescale.jpg   The ABC show Fat March is meeting my expectations in that it is bringing attention to the fact that people can get life insurance at affordable rates even if they are overweight. It has also shown that dramatic impact that weight loss can have on life insurance rates. Feeling good is not the only benefit to weight loss.

Just to reiterate, the basis of the quotes are what one could expect due to weight alone, with no health issues. While we don’t have the luxury in a short program, there is also an assumption that the weight lost is kept off for more than a year. All quotes are based on $250,000 of 20 year term insurance. In all cases I am using the best possible underwriting in the industry to make sure the prices are as good as it can get.

There are, at this point, just 9 participants remaining with Wendy quitting. I am revising weights and life insurance quotes. Remember, last episode everyone’s rates came down and Will went from uninsurable to insurable. Keep in mind that to make it to the next lower rate class may not happen for everyone this week. I’m confident that those that keep going will still see substantial changes in their life insurance rates.

First is their starting weight and current weight. Then their beginning life insurance cost, 2nd episode cost and current cost.

1. Michael started at 319 and is now 273. Start $735, 2nd $605, now $420.

2. Chantal started at 250 and is now 228. Start $535, 2nd $471, now $421.

3. Will started at 472 and is now 424. Start uninsurable, 2nd $619, now at $560.

4. Anthony started at 433 and is now 378. Start $560, 2nd $500, still at $500.

5. Sam started at 382 and is now 336. Start $686, 2nd $620, now $553. ***

6. Jami Lynn started at 236 and is now 209. Start $430, 2nd $356, now $205.

7. Loralie started at 241 and is now 213. Start $381, 2nd $331, now $225.

8. Shea started at 289 and is now 265. Start $475, 2nd $410, still at $410. ***

9. Matt started at 389 and is now 354. Start $613, 2nd $525, still at $525.

The two participants with asteriks were errors I caught when I recomputed from the beginning. I promise to be more careful going forward, but you should know that I suffer from fat finger syndrome which can lead to an occasional error when myself and a keyboard meet. Please forgive the errors.
There were three participants that didn’t gain any ground on life insurance this week. With Matt only shedding one pound, that would seem obvious. I have a hunch that Matt will blow us away in the next episode the way he did in the 2nd. The other two just happened to barely make it into one rate class last episode and while they had significant loss, they didn’t make it through the spread in that rate class. I suspect we will see them move down next week.

For some participants it was time to do some shopping. I have been using one company as a baseline because they have the most liberal build chart on the upper end. Once a person meets a certain threshhold, it’s not about just finding someone to offer insurance, but who is going to offer the best rate. Jami Lynn was the first participant to break through to rates better than standard. She may actually reach preferred rates in the next episode.

Congratulations to all.

Bottom line. Underwriters reward weight loss and it takes a good independent agent in control of their fat finger syndrome to find the best rates.

Add comment August 22nd, 2007

Update Life Insurance and Fat March!

My goal for following the ABC show Fat March has been to bring attention to the fact that people can get life insurance at affordable rates even if they are overweight in most instances. I also wanted people to see, as the participants drop weight, what a difference it can make in the cost of their life insurance.

From my first post last week you may remember that I laid out the basis of the quotes as being what one could expect due to weight alone, with no health issues. All quotes are based on $250,000 of 20 year term insurance. In all cases I am using the best possible underwriting in the industry to make sure the prices are as good as it can get. I would also like to correct the starting weights that I used for the participants. I took those weights from www.zap2it.com and they were close, but not accurate.

There are, at this point, just 10 participants remaining with Shane and Kim not making it past the first week. I was sorry to see Shane get voted off. I truly hope he will pick up another avenue of weight loss that is a little less brutal. Of the 10 remaining participants, the following is their starting weight and their current weight after having walked 150 miles, followed by their original life insurance quote and their current quote. It’s important to understand when looking at rates, that rates don’t go down pound by pound. A rate class can often span a 20-25# range, so even though significant loss has occurred, it’s possible to remain at the same rate until more weight is lost. That was not the case this week as everyone made headway.

1. Michael started at 319 and is now 286. Start $735, Now $605.

2. Chantal started at 250 and is now 236. Start $535, Now, $471

3. Will started at 472 and is now 441. Start uninsurable, Now $619

4. Wendy started at 242 and is now 223. Start $575, Now $477

5. Anthony started at 433 and is now 396. Start $560, Now $500

6. Sam started at 382 and is now 351. Start $613, Now $553

7. Jami Lynn started at 236 and is now 218. Start $430, Now $356

8. Loralie started at 241 and is now 222. Start $381, Now $331

9. Shea started at 289 and is now 272. Start $355, Now$310

10. Matt started at 389 and is now 355. Start $613, Now $525

Will had this comment after the first round of quotes that he posted on myspace.com, “So this one guy has a blog about life insurance. For some reason, he thought it would be interesting to tabulate the life insurance rates for the Fat March contestants. Very expensive for everyone, but according to him, me and Shane are the only two that are UNINSURABLE!!!! I thought that was funny as ****.

Wonder if I’m insurable now, lol

Well, the answer is yes. I know that for younger people especially, it is hard to consider something like life insurance seriously, but someday the reality of being uninsurable could have a real impact on a person and their family. I think it is awesome what all of them have accomplished, and the adversity they have overcome.

Bottom line. It appears that weight issues can be overcome in what appears to be a fairly brutal manner. The good news is that with each loss of weight comes a healthier life and lower life insurance rates.

2 comments August 14th, 2007

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