Consumers looking to buy a life insurance cover may soon have to include their weight on the application form in order to enable life insurers to accurately assess the risk they present, warns life and health reinsurer Swiss Re.
For obese people this could, apart from being a possible humiliation, also lead to more expensive life insurance cover. The Switzerland-based firm says the growing number of people suffering from obesity around the world will have financial implications for consumers of life insurance products and society as a whole. Just as smoking causes higher premiums, Swiss Re believes obesity - which is linked to many different types of diseases - could push up the price of life cover. The reinsurer says the life industry must deal with issues associated with increases in obesity by ensuring ...
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