If you're like many Canadians, you've probably thought about losing a few pounds at one point or another. You wouldn't be alone; in fact you would likely have almost half of Canada thinking about going to the gym and eating healthier alongside with you. After all, it's been reported that more than 6 million Canadians between 20 to 64 years old are overweight and another 2.8 million are obese. Given that these two groups combined represent almost half of the Canadian population, it's no wonder there is a misconception that getting life insurance, if overweight, would be difficult.
Fact is a person would have to be significantly overweight for it to be difficult to get life insurance.
What's significant to a life insurance company?
Each life insurance company is different; however, the following is a typical example that lists weights, in accord with gender and height, when a life insurer might consider charging more in life insurance premiums. It is at this weight, when a person may be no longer eligible for the standard rate, which most Canadians get when applying for life insurance.
| Height (in feet and inches) |
Male Weight in pounds |
Female Weight in pounds |
| 4'10 | N/A | 177 |
| 4'11 | N/A | 181 |
| 5'0 | 183 | 185 |
| 5'1 | 188 | 189 |
| 5'2 | 193 | 193 |
| 5'3 | 197 | 198 |
| 5'4 | 204 | 203 |
| 5'5 | 210 | 208 |
| 5'6 | 215 | 213 |
| 5'7 | 220 | 219 |
| 5'8 | 226 | 225 |
| 5'9 | 232 | 231 |
| 5'10 | 238 | 238 |
| 5'11 | 244 | 247 |
| 6'0 | 250 | 253 |
| 6'1 | 257 | N/A |
| 6'2 | 263 | N/A |
| 6'3 | 271 | N/A |
| 6'4 | 275 | N/A |
| 6'5 | 282 | N/A |
| 6'6 | 290 | N/A |
Unless a person greatly exceeds the maximum weight set out for their height and gender, weight alone will not typically be used to determine the type of rate offered from a life insurance company. Even though carrying some extra weight is often linked to diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure, and heart disease, a person's life insurance premium-and whether it is the standard rate or not-is more likely to be affected by the applicant's current medical status along with their family's medical history.
Don't wait because of your weight. Get life insurance
If you don't already have life insurance because you thought that being even just a little overweight would make your life insurance rates too high, you can compare online life insurance premiums for Term 10, Term 20, Term 30 or Term to 100 policies with face values ranging from $50,000 up to $2 million.
Need help getting started? Kanetix has developed a number of free online tools that will help you decide which term life insurance product is best for you and how much life insurance coverage you should get.
First, try the Term Life Insurance Analyzer. By answering a few simple questions, this tool will assess your needs and let you know what product is most commonly recommended for people in your same situation.
Then, try the Life Insurance Needs Calculator. This tool will help you find out roughly how much life insurance you'll need to have in order to ensure that your family, loved ones and your debts are covered in the event of your death.
These tools won't take much time, and will help you when you decide to compare life insurance rates.
