How Important is BMI When Considering Health Insurance Plans

When we talk about health insurance plans, we think about the premium costs too. Don’t we? And also, how can we avail the plan at a lower premium price? In health insurance plans, the premium price depends upon the insured’s age, health conditions, and various other factors. Another important factor on which the premium depends is your BMI – Body Mass Index. Yes, it does have an effect whether it’s a personal health insurance plan or a family insurance plan.

Let us describe it in detail. But first, let us tell you what exactly is the body mass index? Give a read to the article below:

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a type of calculation that uses your height to calculate your ideal weight. Along with this, it also predicts your body fat percentage. For instance, if you have a high BMI calculation, then your body fat percentage will also be high, and the same goes when the BMI calculation is at a lower percentage.

Now that you have understood what BMI is, let’s move forward to how it is calculated? Why is it important to keep in mind when considering purchasing a health insurance plan? What is the relation between a health plan and the insured’s body mass index?

BMI Calculation

BMI is calculated on the basis of a formula. For calculating your BMI, you need to know your weight in kilograms and height in meters. So, you just need to divide your height in kg by your weight in meters.

Below we have mentioned a table to provide you with a better understanding of the ideal height and weight for a health insurance plan.

Why is BMI Important to Consider When Buying a Health Plan?

Body mass index indicates your body fat levels, and thus becomes an important indicator of any health risks being involved. People with high BMI, will have high body fat levels and also a close tendency of getting affected by health-related issues such as type-2 diabetes, gallbladder issues, cardiovascular issues, etc.

When it comes to low BMI, it indicates lower body fat, meaning that you may be prone to issues like being unable to absorb proper nutrients leading to being anorexic.

This is why it is better to first check your BMI and understand the risk of diseases that may be involved and then purchase a health insurance plan.

Body Mass Index and Health Insurance Plan 

Since BMI indicates your fitness level, it causes a direct effect on your health insurance premium. Lower or higher BMI than normal will lead you to higher premium prices in your insurance plan.

What are the factors that you must consider while buying health insurance besides BMI?

Body Mass Index is a general factor that insurance companies consider. However, it is not always accurate. It can be slightly inaccurate at times. So, the companies consider a few other factors as well.

We have curated a small list below to help you get a detailed understanding of the same. Have a look at the following:

• Age – People at a younger age get the benefit of lower premium rates as they are less prone to diseases and do not need regular clinical visits or health checkups.
• Heavy drinker or smoker – If you drink or smoke a lot, then your health insurance premium will be higher. This is because being a frequent drinker or smoker makes you prone to various health diseases and affects several important organs of your body like the lungs, heart, and liver.
• Family history – This means your hereditary diseases will be checked. The insurer will check if you have a family history of diabetes, cancer, dementia, etc. If yes, then you might get affected later in life. This may reflect a higher premium rate in your health insurance plan.

We hope that the above mentioned factors and details on Body Mass Index (BMI) were informative to you. You can check out more insurance related information on the Bajaj Finserv app.