A person's physical health has a big impact on life insurance rates.
"Remember that to obtain life insurance, you must generally have a physical exam, and blood tests can reveal a lot about your health status," O'Neill says.
Therefore, shedding excess pounds can improve your health and cut life insurance premium costs, she says.
"Lose enough weight and you may not have to pay the surcharges for unhealthy lifestyle habits that many life insurance companies charge," O'Neill says.
"I would agree having a lower body mass reduces the cost of individual life insurance," Zagorsky says.
However, he also points out that body weight does not factor into all life insurance policy rates. He cites statistics from the American Council of Life Insurance showing that almost 60 percent of all policies in existence are held under group or company names, or by credit card companies for individuals who purchase insurance on their bill in case they die unexpectedly.
With such group policies, an individual's body weight does not impact his or her premium cost.
"This means only about 40 percent of all policies in existence are potentially dependent on body mass," Zagorsky says.