Can an obese apply for insurance?

I have seen increasingly number of clients who are obese. ALL of them came to me for help because they were rejected when applying for insurance through other advisers. Frankly speaking, for these groups of individuals, they have been ill advised by their advisers because special consideration is required for these groups of individuals applying for insurance. What exactly constitutes obesity? The most popular measurement of obesity is the Body-Mass-Index (BMI) which is defined by Mass (in kiologram) divided by the square of height (in metres). So if you are 80 kg and 1.8 m tall, your BMI is 80/(1.8*1.8) = 24.7.

According to Health Promotion Board (HPB), the following are the risks associated with the respective range of BMI:

>= 27.5, High Risk
23 – 27.4, Moderate Risk
18.5 – 22.9, Low Risk (healthy range)
< 18.5, Risk of nutritional deficiency diseases and osteoporosis

Source: https://www.hpb.gov.sg/HOPPortal/health-article/HPB-039406

Common illness associated with obesity is cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. When come to insurance application, it is possible for insurers to totally reject cases of extreme obesity. So it is important that care is made to ensure you do not get rejected unnecessarily. Why? Because upon rejection, you get yourself a “record” which you will need to declare for future application and this may not be in your interest. Moreover, you deny yourself the option of an insurance plan via Moratorium Underwriting.

Here is my advice on what to do if you are obese.

1. If you have been rejected or have a postponement for an insurance application before, you cannot do step 3.
2. If you already have an existing medical insurance, goto step 4
3. Apply for Moratorium Underwriting for Aviva’s Myshield. It is likely your adviser do not understand what this means because he hardly earns anything from you for this. So it is important which adviser you engage with. The insurance coverage is guaranteed to be issue but pre-existing illnesses and possibility those indirectly associated with obesity are excluded.
4. Go for a medical checkup to find out whether do you have any illness such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Do not be stubborn and have these treated. There is no cure for all these three conditions but medication can manage these and reduce your risks significantly
5. With the help of dietician and together with the consultation from your family doctor, get yourself into a weight reduction program. Allow yourself to reduce your weight say over a year.
6. When your BMI is within the healthy range (18.5 – 22.9), you can apply for whatever insurance required. Your chance of a successful application is increased significantly. Even if you do not get the desired insurance you want, at least you are already covered under the Aviva Myshield.

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