Weight and Life Insurance Underwriting
There are some basic building blocks in life insurance underwriting. Age and sex come to mind as two that just don’t vary. Build, height and weight, while they may get slightly different treatment from company to company, are another one of those basic pieces to the puzzle that is always considered.
For most that becomes a question of how they fit into a “standard” build chart. A standard build chart details the maximum you can weigh for any given height to get standard or better rates. Below is a chart from a reasonably middle of the road company.
PPNT stands for Preferred Plus Non Tobacco. PNT for Preferred Non Tobacco and SNT for Standard Non Tobacco. This company is a little more liberal at their standard rate than most.
| Height | PPNT | PNT | SNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4'10" | 132 | 144 | 179 |
| 4'11" | 136 | 149 | 185 |
| 5'0" | 142 | 155 | 192 |
| 5'1" | 146 | 160 | 198 |
| 5'2" | 152 | 166 | 205 |
| 5'3" | 157 | 172 | 211 |
| 5'4" | 162 | 176 | 218 |
| 5'5" | 166 | 181 | 225 |
| 5'6" | 172 | 187 | 232 |
| 5'7" | 176 | 192 | 239 |
| 5'8" | 182 | 198 | 246 |
| 5'9" | 187 | 204 | 253 |
| 5'10" | 191 | 209 | 261 |
| 5'11" | 197 | 215 | 268 |
| 6'0" | 202 | 221 | 276 |
| 6'1" | 209 | 228 | 284 |
| 6'2" | 215 | 234 | 292 |
| 6'3" | 221 | 241 | 300 |
| 6'4" | 227 | 247 | 308 |
| 6'5" | 232 | 253 | 316 |
| 6'6" | 239 | 260 | 324 |
| 6'7" | 245 | 268 | 332 |
| 6'8" | 251 | 274 | 341 |
| 6'9" | 257 | 281 | 349 |
For the obese and especially for the morbidly obese, it can become a question of insurable or uninsurable, and if insurable, at what rating above the standard rate.
Life insurance companies generally use what they call “table rating” when a risk doesn’t fall into standard underwriting. Each “table” represents 25% more premium above the standard rate. We’ll explore that in Obesity and Life Insurance Underwriting.