Pricing obesity appropriately

TAL has recently adjusted the TAL BMI calculation loadings to provide a more accurate reflection of the risks involved.

General Manager Retail Distribution, Niall McConville said that the Australian life insurance industry has assessed and accepted overweight and obese customers at standard rates.

“As an industry, we are continuously working towards long-term sustainability and there is an industry need to review what is classed as standard risks.

“We believe in appropriately pricing risk, based on available evidence, to ensure our ability to pay claims in the future,” Mr McConville said.

TAL reviewed the rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity in Australia and the subsequent need to price risk more accurately.

As a result, premium loadings will now be charged for overweight and obese customers who may have previously been accepted at standard rates across all benefit types. TheBMI loading will increase with the rise of a customer’s rating on the TAL BMI tables.

Unfortunately, Australia is at the forefront of the obesity problem and this represents a substantial health, societal and financial issue for all Australians. The most recent Australian Health Survey 2011-2012 (see note 1) showed that nearly 63% of Australian adults are considered overweight or obese. In terms of population, this would result in an estimated total of 16.9 million Australians being either overweight or obese (see note 2).

“There will be opportunities for customers to have their medical loading for obesity reviewed. This hopefully is an incentive for people to get healthier. Customers should be paying the right price for their risk”.

Note 1: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4338.0~2011-13~Main%20Features~Overweight%20and%20obesity~10007
Note 2: No Time to Weight. Obesity: A National Epidemic and its impact on Australia. Obesity Australia 2014