Term life insurance
This factor triples your insurance premium
July 27, 2026 – 11:31 amReading time: 3 minutes
With term life insurance, people can protect their family members in the event of their death. The price for this depends heavily on several criteria.
The unexpectedly early death of a family member is a serious blow. It becomes particularly precarious if the survivors also lose their financial existence as a result. If there is no income, loans and your entire livelihood suddenly become shaky. With term life insurance you can protect your relatives in the event of an emergency. Everything that needs to be taken into account you can read about it here.
However, how much the corresponding protection costs depends not only on the agreed insurance sum, your job and your age, but also on two specific risk characteristics: your body mass index and smoking status. In certain cases, smokers pay almost three times as much, according to a current evaluation by the German Insurance Association (GDV).
Premium can triple
Even a thirty-year-old who is healthy, has no pre-existing conditions or is overweight, pays 112 percent more in insurance premiums if he occasionally smokes a cigarette. As smokers get older, it becomes even more expensive. A 45-year-old smoker pays a total of 183 percent more than a non-smoker of the same age – almost three times the amount.
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Insurers justify the high premium surcharges with the increased risk of cancer among smokers. According to the Robert Koch Institute, around 127,000 people die every year in Germany alone as a result of smoking. Insurers must take this risk into account. The consequence: significantly higher premiums.
Weight plays this role
But not every risk feature has such a strong impact on your wallet. The weight of the insured person only plays a minor role. Insurers use the body mass index of the insured person to estimate weight.
There are four levels of body mass index. If the body mass index is below 18.5, one speaks of being underweight. A value of 18.5 to 25 is considered normal weight; anything above that is considered overweight. A value over 30 is considered obesity.
Body mass index
The body mass index is a simple guideline for assessing body weight in relation to height. It is calculated by dividing the weight in kilograms by the square of the height in meters. However, BMI does not replace a medical diagnosis. For example, he does not provide any information about the ratio of body fat to muscle mass, so strength athletes are considered “overweight” according to the BMI. You can determine your BMI here.
While insured people who are normal or overweight do not pay any surcharges, insurance coverage for insured people who are underweight is a little more expensive: the GDV specifies surcharges of five percent. The reason: People who are underweight have an increased risk of heart failure and are more likely to suffer from long-term health complications. Those who are considered obese pay an average of 18 percent more for their contributions. Insurers calculate this with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and type 2 diabetes. However, compared to smoking status, your own body weight only has a small effect on the insurance premium.
