It is common knowledge that smoking is detrimental to your health, and to the health and wellbeing of those around you. Furthermore, it also affects your finances with the average pack of 20 cigarettes costing around £5. Bearing in mind that the average smoker will then smoke at least two packets a week, that’s a cost of £10 every week, which evens out to a good £520 a year. Think where better you could use that money and think how much more you could save on your life insurance premium.
For those people who smoke between 10 and 20 cigarettes a day, the cost totals out to between £750 and £1,375 for the year and while you’re keeping the newsagents and tobacco companies in pocket, you could be losing more money than some people see in a lifetime. According to financial website, Moneysavingexpert.com, the hidden cost of the average nicotine habit could be as much as £37,000 over 20 years, meaning that the actual cost could total an amount as high as £60,000.
Those who smoke have a far higher chance of developing a serious illness, not to mention dying before their time. Therefore, there is a considerably greater risk involved for insurance companies offering them various types of cover. In terms of health insurance, for example, some companies will offer non-smokers a far better price than people who do smoke. However, other insurers won’t differentiate between their customers, as health insurance operates on a month by month basis, whereas it is probable that smokers will incur problems in the long term. If a smoker, seeking health insurance, is believed to have a serious risk of illness, in that instance, he or she would be lucky to even get a quote.
Life insurance operates in a different way, as it works towards protecting an individual specifically for the long term, therefore smokers will find that they are most likely to be quoted considerably higher prices than non-smokers. ASDA’s Finance’s website claims to offer the least expensive quotes available for life insurance policies with prices varying greatly dependent on age. However, if you are seeking a quote and confirm that you have used tobacco products throughout the year, you can expect to pay a minimum cost of £200,000 for life cover over a period of 25 years with critical illness cover included on an individual basis.
It is possible to make significant savings on the cost of your life insurance premium if you quit smoking, however, the majority of insurers will not consider you a non-smoker until you have made the commitment to quit for at least 12 months. For example, a person who has not smoked for two years having been on twenty a day will actually find they are eligible for a better deal than someone who has a cigarette on occasion during social events. The reason for this is that any form of smoking, regardless of the frequency or amount, still amounts to smoking and therefore could still result in the person contracting a smoking-related illness. An insurer can invalidate your policy, or even charge you with fraud, if you assign a non-smoker status on your policy while smoking socially. In addition, it is important for someone who previously was a heavy smoker to provide their insurer with evidence that they have stopped, either by getting a note from their GP or from a counsellor who has aided them through the process of quitting. The bottom line is, if you want the best deal on your life insurance premium, quit smoking.
Hadassah is an author of several articles pertaining to Health Insurance. He is known for his expertise on the subject and on other Business and Finance related articles.
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