The number of Americans with severe obesity (BMI ≥40) has more than doubled since 2000 and now exceeds 9% of the adult population. This group has traditionally been regarded as virtually uninsurable due to its significantly elevated mortality. However, by treating the millions of Americans with severe obesity as a monolithic cohort with uniform risk—and subsequently jet-declining life insurance applications with BMIs ≥40—carriers run a risk of their own: missing out on an insurable population larger than some U.S. states.
In this webinar, we’ll use new research from Milliman IntelliScript’s latest indepth study to show that severe obesity mortality risk is complex and multifaceted. We’ll demonstrate the use of Irix® Medical Data and Risk Score to spot key comorbidities, stratify risk within severe obesity, and identify nearly half the individuals in this group who have better-than-average mortality.
Join this webinar to understand the significant opportunity presented by applicants who have severe obesity but are otherwise healthy—and how you can use data-driven tools to identify these millions more Americans who are, in fact, eminently insurable.
Topics covered
- Current prevalence and trends in obesity—especially severe obesity—in the U.S., including data from the insurance applicant population, where severe obesity is even more common than it is in the general population
- The relationship between obesity and comorbidities like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer
- The limitations of BMI as metric for obesity
- Surprising findings showing that over half of the population with BMI ≥40 are good or even exceptionally good risks
- Using Medical Data and Risk Score to stratify risk within severe obesity and identify millions of applicants who have traditionally been auto-declined
Who should attend
Medical directors, underwriters, actuaries, and other clinical professionals who assess health risk will benefit from an improved understanding of the real impact of BMI and especially severe obesity on mortality risk.
Kimberly Sapre, DMSc, PA-C
Medical Consultant
Emily Simons
Actuarial Analyst
Sue Bartholf, FSA, MAAA
Director, Solutions Consulting
