Key Takeaways
\nMost underwriting forms don\u2019t ask about GLP-1 drug use, creating blind spots for insurers as they price policies.Most patients stop GLP-1 drugs within a year and lose the health gains that lowered their premiums as a result.To reduce the risk of mortality slippage, some insurers are starting to ask about GLP-1 use and offering better terms to those who can show long-term adherence.<\/p>\n
GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are revolutionizing obesity treatment\u2014and quietly wreaking havoc on the U.S. life insurance industry<\/a>, which wrote roughly $1.4 trillion in premiums last year. So what’s the problem? It isn’t that the drugs don\u2019t work. In fact, it\u2019s that most people quit taking them.\n<\/p>\n When patients stop these drugs, key health markers like blood pressure and weight often shoot back up within months. But unwittingly, life insurance underwriters\u2014working off outdated forms\u2014still rate these applicants as low-risk. That gap between perceived and actual risk is called \u201cmortality slippage,\u201d and it\u2019s more than doubled since 2019. It now affects about one in six policies.\n<\/p>\n Mortality slippage refers to insurers mistakenly assigning someone a lower-risk insurance profile than is appropriate, and it can be costly due to subsequent unexpected payouts.\n<\/p>\n “It’s a complicated problem,” says Dr. Ashwin Sharma<\/a>, a researcher who\u2019s studied the phenomenon. In essence, your markers of cardiovascular health seem fine on paper, but the underwriting risk is much higher than insurers expect. That’s because they might not know you’ve been using GLP-1s, and many patients end up quitting the medication. Meanwhile, finding a solution to mortality slippage is proving to be complicated, too.<\/p>\n How a Weight-Loss Shot Threatens Life Insurance Companies’ Bottom Line <\/p>\n Underwriting hinges on accurately estimating an applicant\u2019s mortality risk. But as Sharma explains, very few underwriting forms include any questions about GLP-1 use. That means someone on these drugs might show dramatically improved labs\u2014lower blood sugar, better blood pressure\u2014without needing to disclose the medication behind them.\n<\/p>\n If they quit, which recent data suggests more than half of patients do within a year, those improvements can reverse quickly. The insurer, however, has already locked in a low premium <\/a>based on an artificially healthy profile\u2014potentially for decades. \u201cIt just takes a couple thousand policies, and then you realize you may have a huge collapse,\u201d Sharma cautions.\n<\/p>\n Quitting GLP-1s Is the Problem
\n Why They Quit <\/p>\n