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Life insurance for overweight people, how BMI counts

Life insurance for overweight people is available: Legal & General says it is possible to get life insurance with a high BMI (Legal & General ↗).

Insurers use your height and weight to judge risk, and a higher BMI can mean higher premiums (Aviva ↗).

Check your BMI below and see what insurers say.

Every claim here is our summary of a named external source, linked beside it. Sources change: check the wording at the link before you rely on it.

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01 · Key facts

Life insurance for overweight people, the key facts

The points that matter most, each linked to the guide or law it comes from.

At a glance

  • It's possible to get life insurance with a high BMI, Legal & General says (Legal & General ↗)
  • For most adults the NHS says a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30 or more is obese (NHS ↗)
  • Insurers use BMI to help work out your risk, which affects the price (Aviva ↗)
  • Legal & General says cover may cost more from a BMI of 31, and is unlikely at 40 or above (Legal & General ↗)
  • Losing weight could lead to better insurance terms in the future (Aviva ↗)
  • Accurate height and weight matter at claim time (Royal London ↗)
New individual protection claims UK insurers paid, 202497.9%The ABI names non-disclosure of existing conditions as a common reason for declined claims.

ABI figure, all individual protection; check at the link: (ABI ↗)

02 · Can you get it?

Can you get life insurance if you are overweight?

Aviva says a high BMI doesn't mean you can't get life insurance, although the application process may be a little different (Aviva ↗).

BMI is one factor among several: MoneyHelper lists age, health, lifestyle, smoking, family medical history, the length of the policy and occupation (MoneyHelper ↗).

Royal London calls weight and BMI a key factor insurers use to set the cost (Royal London ↗).

Pick an insurer to read what it says.

What each insurer says

Possible, with limits

Legal & General says it's possible to get life insurance with a high BMI; generally, from a BMI of 31 you may find it more expensive, and cover is unlikely at 40 or above (Legal & General ↗).

It also asks for waist and dress size as another way of assessing your health (Legal & General ↗).

Summaries of each insurer's own guide. Other insurers set their own limits.

03 · BMI

How BMI affects your life insurance premiums

BMI compares your weight with your height (Royal London ↗).

The NHS says that for most adults a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30 or more is obese (NHS ↗).

Insurers draw their own lines.

Legal & General names two: from 31 you may find cover more expensive, and at 40 or above it is unlikely (Legal & General ↗).

We do not publish loadings, because no insurer we checked publishes them.

Type your height and weight.

Nothing is stored or sent, and the result is not an underwriting decision.

Your BMI (an example; change it)

30.0In the NHS overweight range, 25 to 29.9

  • NHS: 25 to 29.9 is overweight and 30 or more is obese, for most adults (NHS ↗).
  • Legal & General: generally, from a BMI of 31 you may find cover more expensive (Legal & General ↗).
  • Legal & General: it is unlikely you can take out life insurance with a BMI of 40 or above (Legal & General ↗).

The NHS uses lower ranges for people from South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean backgrounds, and BMI cannot tell muscle from fat (NHS ↗). Other insurers set their own limits.

04 · Applying

How to apply for life insurance with a high BMI

Height and weight are standard questions: Legal & General lists them with age, occupation, smoking, medical history and alcohol (Legal & General ↗).

It also asks for waist and dress size (Legal & General ↗).

Whether you need a medical depends on your circumstances and the amount of cover, Legal & General says; BMI is one of the things it lists (Legal & General ↗).

An insurer needs your consent to ask your GP for a report (Legal & General ↗), and you can ask to see it before it is sent (legislation.gov.uk ↗).

01

Measure

Measure yourself first

Height, weight and waist, measured on the day, not remembered.

02

Answer

Give the figures as they are

Wrong figures can cause trouble at claim time.

03

Evidence

Expect possible checks

A medical or a GP report, depending on your case and the cover.

04

Compare

Look at more than one insurer

Limits and approaches differ between insurers.

05 · Tips

Tips for getting the best premium

Aviva says losing weight can improve your BMI and overall health, which could lead to better insurance terms in the future (Aviva ↗).

MoneyHelper says criteria and approaches can vary significantly between insurers, so shop around, and that a specialist broker can research the market for you (MoneyHelper ↗).

What the sources suggest

06 · Disclosure

Accurate figures protect your claim

MoneyHelper says an insurer can't reject your claim if you took reasonable care to answer its questions honestly (MoneyHelper ↗).

Royal London tells advisers that incorrect height and weight information could mean it won't pay out on a claim (Royal London ↗).

If your health changes between applying and being accepted, Vitality says to let the insurer know straight away (Vitality ↗).

If an answer turns out to be wrong

No remedy against a careful answer

The law asks you to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer (legislation.gov.uk ↗). The insurer's remedies apply where the consumer breached that duty (legislation.gov.uk ↗).

Our summary of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2 and Schedule 1. Read the Act at the links; it is the authority.

07 · Help

Specialist brokers and where to get help

MoneyHelper says it is important to shop around, because criteria and approaches can vary significantly between insurers, and that a specialist broker can research the market for you (MoneyHelper ↗).

If you think an insurer's risk assessment isn't based on a reliable or relevant source of information, MoneyHelper says you can challenge it under the Equality Act (MoneyHelper ↗).

Complain to the insurer first.

We do not recommend brokers or insurers.

Before you buy, the FCA tells consumers to check the firm on its Firm Checker (FCA ↗).

08 · Business owners

Run a business? Key person cover asks too

If your company insures you as a key person, the company applies, owns the plan and pays for it, and any payout goes to the business (Royal London ↗) (Legal & General ↗).

You are the person insured, so your height and weight is part of the application: Legal & General's adviser guide says the key person gives their own personal and medical details (Legal & General ↗).

If Aviva can't decide on a case straight away, it gives free life cover while it looks into it (Aviva ↗).

The business must also be able to show it would lose profits in your absence (Legal & General ↗).

What is key person insurance? →Key person risk →Business protection insurance →Key person vs relevant life →Executive income protection →
01

Applicant

The company applies

The business owns the policy and pays for it. You are the person insured.

02

Your answers

You answer the health questions

The same care applies as for a personal policy: answer every question fully.

03

Underwriting

The insurer assesses the case

It may ask for more evidence before it decides, as with any application.

04

Sizing

The cover is sized on the business

How much cover the business can take is based on what it would lose.

09 · Related

Related life insurance guides

Guides to other health conditions and to the cover itself.

10 · Trusted sources & further reading

Check it for yourself

Every claim on this page is our summary of one of the documents listed here.

We last checked them against the live sources on 28 September 2026.

The documents are the authority, not this page.

Insurers and HMRC update them, so validate any figure or condition at its link before you rely on it.

Questions

Life insurance and BMI, answered

Each insurer sets its own limits.

Legal & General says it is unlikely you will be able to take out life insurance with a BMI of 40 or above, and that from a BMI of 31 you may find cover more expensive. Legal & General guide ↗

We do not publish figures, and none of the insurers we checked publishes a loading for weight.

Aviva says that, generally, the higher your BMI, the higher the risk you may present, which can lead to higher premiums. Aviva guide ↗

It can help in future.

Aviva says losing weight can positively affect your BMI and overall health, and that this could lead to better insurance terms in the future.

Ask your insurer how it treats a policy you already hold. Aviva guide ↗

They ask for it.

Legal & General asks for your height and weight, and also for waist and dress size.

Insurers may also ask you to attend a medical examination; Legal & General says that in 2025 around 7.5% of people who applied for life insurance were asked to attend one. Legal & General guide ↗

We have not found an insurer or NHS page that sets out how weight loss surgery is treated, so we cannot say.

It is part of your medical history, which Legal & General lists among the things it asks about, so declare it when the application asks. Legal & General guide ↗

Beta · information only

Run a business? Size the key person cover.

If a business depends on you, the calculator works through the earnings, profit and loan methods UK insurers publish.

01Earnings, profit and loan methods

02Insurers’ published multiples, with sources

03No email, no quote, no sales call

Information, not advice

We are not an insurer, broker or regulated adviser, and we do not give quotes or recommend a policy. For regulated advice, use an adviser authorised by the FCA.

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Not financial advice. This page is general information. Before buying insurance, the FCA tells consumers to check the firm on its Firm Checker (FCA ↗). For free guidance, see MoneyHelper.