Reducing your weight could bring cheaper private medical insurance

People who are considered overweight and have a high body mass index (BMI) should consider losing weight before they apply for private medical insurance, an expert has claimed. With obesity being linked to a variety of conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer, having a lower BMI could reduce the amount people have to pay on their insurance premiums.
It seems that an increasing amount of private medical insurance firms have started to identify how heavy a person is when working out how much their premiums should be and assessing the risk they will need to make a claim in the future. The NHS Information Centre has said that nearly a quarter of all adults in England were classifiable as obese in 2009.
Roger Edwards, a spokesperson for insurance company Bright Grey, commented “Your BMI (body mass index) has become more of a factor in recent years, as underwriting has become more sophisticated.”
He added “A BMI of 35 could see a 50 per cent increase in premiums, while a BMI of 40 or more could see them double.”
It was also stated because premiums usually stay at the same level for the whole term of cover, this makes it key that the cost is as low as possible when the cover is first taken out.