How Does BMI Affect Health Insurance Premiums
3 min readThe necessity of a health insurance plan in our lives is beyond explanation in today’s time. Despite the urgency, most people avoid buying a health plan because it is expensive. Since the medical costs and inflation rates have significantly increased, the cost of health insurance plans was bound to follow the same path.
However, not having a comprehensive health insurance plan will mean that in case of any medical contingency, you and your dependents will have to rely on your savings. However, what would you do if the health condition is severe and ends up using all your life savings for the treatments? Even worse, what if you die during your treatment? You certainly wouldn’t want your loved ones to face financial crises in your absence.
That’s where an investment in health insurance comes in handy. Moreover, if premiums are an issue, knowing what factors influence the health insurance premium calculation will help. It will allow you to combat the problem and make better financial decisions to protect your family against unforeseen medical emergencies.
As we know, multiple factors influence health insurance premiums. One such factor is the Body Mass Index or BMI value of the applicant.
What is BMI?
Ideally, the BMI metric is used to calculate the body fat based on one’s height and weight. You can use the BMI calculator online to determine your BMI value. Once you have obtained the ratio, you can use it to see which category you fall under. There are broadly four categories –
- Underweight – BMI under 18.5
- Normal – BMI between 18.5 and 24.9
- Overweight – BMI between 25 and 29.9
- Obese – BMI above 30
It is important to note that BMI is not the only health indicator used by medical experts to determine your healthy weight. However, since most other techniques are expensive and cannot be accessed by everyone, BMI happens to be one of health insurance premium-deciding factors.
How does BMI affect your health insurance premiums?
In India, many individuals are overweight or obesity. Also, the new normal way of living has undoubtedly affected our lifestyle habits and health. It is important to note that obesity or being overweight can cause multiple health issues in a person.
Having a high BMI will prove that you are overweight. When buying health insurance in India, most insurers consider the BMI value to calculate the premiums. If you are overweight, the chances of you suffering from a severe health condition are more. Therefore, the insurer will consider you as a high-risk applicant. The health insurance premium charges for high-risk applicants are more than others.
Sure, BMI is just a number. However, it does influence the premiums of the majority of financial instruments. Also, know that your health is your treasure. You will be able to enjoy and lead a peaceful life without any health conditions if you take care of your health from the beginning. It is best practice to get your BMI value in the healthy range by following a healthy diet. You can also make the necessary lifestyle changes and eliminate alcoholic beverages and smoking.
If you already have a healthy BMI, make sure that you work on maintaining it. In addition to enjoying low health insurance premiums, you will also be leading a healthy and peaceful life.
