What will this mean for consumers?

It will mean that somebody who is a fraction above the stated healthy weight range will end up paying over half more than somebody within the healthy weight ranges. Some overweight consumers have been denied life insurance cover all together, whilst those that are offered cover, can pay up to 5 times more. This leaves many consumers completely wide open, left with no insurance to protect their families. The insurance companies currently use a measuring system based upon the Body Mass Index.

For example,

Underweight = less than 18.50

Normal = 18.50 to 24.99

Overweight = 25.00 to 29.99

Obese = 30.00 or above

Until recently, the acceptable BMI sat at around 33 to 35. Recent moves has seen this figure land at around 28 to 29. This now means that a male or female weighing over 13.5 stone, with a height of 5ft 7