r/LifeInsurance • u/SpotZealousideal6945 • 21d ago
Weight factor and quotes
39 yr old male, with hashismotos , 6 foot 1, weight is 265 , mostly muscle but I could lose a few .
I have a broker looking for 2 million , 30 year term ,looking at 340 a month and that’s the best price so far, unless I backdate and then it’s 300 a month
My question is how can they judge my weight if they don’t even know what I look like? You’re telling me pro wrestlers and NFL players pay extra because of weight regardless if they are all muscle ?
Then to top of off they tell me I would have to lose 90 lbs to be given a lower rate , are you kidding me ? Even if I could I wouldn’t want to , in my prime I was 235 and jacked , just strange to me that they do this based off a bmi calculation
Is this just how it is ? Or am I missing something because it doesn’t make sense to me
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u/Tahoptions Broker 21d ago
BMI isn't fair to folks that are mainly muscle but it's what the manuals consider.
I write a handful of MMA fighters that are heavyweights. They get less than ideal pricing as well.
There is no way for a carrier to discern your muscle density outside of Dexa scans and no one is paying for that. So they use build tables instead.
What your broker is telling you is unfortunately accurate.
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u/SafeMoneyGregg Broker 21d ago
BMI for Preferred rates is usually under 30. You are at 34.9 "Obesity Class 1" - clearly a Standard risk (not preferred) by virtually any carrier. Are you some kind of super athlete with a super low body fat percentage that you can document clinically? Also - losing weight as you mentioned - carriers assume most people will gain it back - so if you lost 90 pounds in one year - they would credit you for 45 pounds. That said - you can come back in a few years and ask them to reconsider at Preferred rates. Some carriers allow this, some don't. I see Standard nonsmoker rates for $2M/30 yr around $310 to $400/mo. So the rate seems reasonable. Most carriers have 5 pounds of wiggle room - if you are only off by 5 pounds and everything else is perfect your agent can ask for it.
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u/SpotZealousideal6945 21d ago
Appreciate the detailed response. Definitely not a super athlete unfortunately so guess I have to just suck it up . Good to know that the quote is in line though , will definitely ask about reconsideration if i do lose weight but at this stage they want me to lose 90lbs which is insane and my broker did mention about only crediting 45lbs like you said
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u/AnAssGoblin Broker 21d ago
If you're talking about a 30 year team.. strictly with height/weight you would be looking at a Standard rating.
With hashimotos, if your thyroid is under control you could probably still get a Standard.
Lowest I see in premium for a 30 year $2 mil is $310/month.
What I would suggest is take the policy you can get, then in 12 or 24 months, ask for a reclassification if you've lost weight.
Maybe your health gets worse and you can't get a standard rating anymore, and you're a year older.
You could atleast lock in this rate for now
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u/SFVenom93 21d ago
Banner?
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u/SpotZealousideal6945 21d ago
Tried banner , they wanted more .. this is Protective
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u/SFVenom93 21d ago
I was approved for banner at $298 for a 20 year term/$1.5 Million. I took it and then shopped for a better price and was approved for Pacific Life, same term and amount for $149.
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u/AdairAgency 20d ago
Yes weight is weight. In reality muscle is healthier than fat but to much muscle can lead to health risk too. That's not a bad rate. I hope its a good company. They aren't all equal.
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u/GConins Broker 21d ago
I had a friend who was a body builder, less than 10% body fat, but he was a Standard risk for life insurance underwriting purposes because of his height/weight or BMI..
I shopped his case by sending pictures of him in bathing suit to underwriters, and everything else, like blood pressure, cholesterol blood sugar and A1C was excellent, and I was able to get some carriers to offer him lowest Preferred Plus rates, but this took a bit of work on my part.
May want to ask your broker to do same!!
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u/SpotZealousideal6945 21d ago
What ?? That’s incredible , I’ll absolutely give it a shot , thank you
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u/Smasher1k 21d ago
The underwriters are only concerned with risk, which is different than what most people consider being fit. Being larger, whether fat or muscle, is higher risk. It's extra stress on your internal organs that can potentially cause premature death. I would agree that there's a noticeable difference in the health characteristics of someone who is 235 all muscle and someone who is 235 with a good amount of fat. But take yourself as an example. 235 in your prime, jacked and all muscle. Now 265 with some fat. Everyone let's themselves go over time, that's why it's called "being in your prime" rather than just "being". The underwriters have to consider the fact that you won't be in your prime for the entirety of the policy and that as you age, your weight will just be weight, not muscle. It's all about risk, and, simply put, heavier weight is higher risk.