January is the time of year when we all feel the results of too much food and drink and too little exercise. If you have piled on the weight there is a good financial reason to shed a few pounds.
If you are overweight and hoping to take out critical illness or income protection insurance, you could face premiums of up to five or six times that of a person of average weight with no health problems.
In recent months there has been a quiet change in the way some insurance companies treat potential customers who are overweight.
A person's build, and whether they are deemed overweight or not, is measured by their body mass index (BMI). The BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres. Someone with a BMI of over 25 is generally considered overweight and over 30 obese.
Some insurance companies have now started applying automatic loadings to premiums for anyone with a BMI of 28-29, when previously this had typically been at 33-34. Loadings have also started to go up.
A man who is 5ft 6in (168cm) tall and weighs 13 stone (85kg) has a BMI of 30 and is considered overweight. Sadly, more than half of all women and 60 per cent of men in Britain are now overweight, compared with 32 per cent of women and 39 per cent of men 25 years ago.
Height and weight is one of the questions you are asked about when you fill in a form for a critical illness, income protection or health insurance quote. If you are considered by the insurer to be overweight they will often ask for a report from your GP and sometimes a medical examination. They pay for both.
The more overweight the person is, the higher the increase, and this can go up to five or six times the standard premium until cover is declined in more severe cases.
Increases are higher if you are young. Insurers accept that people over 55 may well put on some weight as they age, but if you're under 55 and severely overweight you can be asked to pay 300 per cent more than the standard premium in some cases.
All of these prices could be pushed up further for those who already have weight-related illnesses such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
Most insurers now seek people that are under 40 and in good health. Competition to offer cheaper premiums for the fit and healthy has led to harsher terms for others.
This has practical problems if you are overweight or have other health problems. Premium indications shown on web sites assume you are an average risk. So of insurer A quotes £10 a month and insurer B quotes £20 a month, this is subject to a completed proposal. If insurer A takes a harsher attitude to weight, then their final quote may be £30 a month, while B asks for £25 a month.
Some insurers think that BMI can be misleading. People can be quite heavy because they work out hard at the gym. Using the waist size of an individual, in conjunction with BMI, might give a more accurate picture of a person's health. This is now being considered by a few insurance companies.
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