Seriously obese adults in Sheffield may be at risk of being denied health insurance cover due to their weight. Others with less severe weight problems may face higher premiums as the cost of obesity is increasing and insurance firms are battling to this.
This move could prompt people who are seriously obese to be rejected for health. In particular those with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 to 40. The BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight by the square of their height
Health bosses in Sheffield are predicting over 7,000 people in the city could be denied cover by insurers, with a significant proportion seeing their insurance premiums go up by 50 per cent.
Health premiums were increased if a person’s BMI was 40 or above. Now insurers such as Norwich Union, regard a BMI above 30 as a risk. They say people can expect to pay a minimum of 50 per cent above standard rates for life insurance. If people’s BMI is between 35 and 40 they could be denied cover altogether.
The impact on the city’s businesses is that those who offer life insurance to their employees also face higher premiums if their employees are overweight. This can lead to fears of discrimination against overweight and obese people in the workplace.
“As the average weight of the population rises as it is doing, more people are going to have to pay more,” said Tony Judd, Norwich Union’s Chief Underwriter. “Obesity knocks about eight years off the typical lifespan and that has huge ramifications for us as insurers”.
Chris Horner, spokesman for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, welcomed the move as a deterrent. But Louise Diss, the Director of The Obesity Awareness and Solutions Trust, said: “Sixty seven per cent of men and 52 per cent of women are overweight or obese in the UK. By loading premiums, insurers are discriminating against a majority of people”.