Why wait to transform your finances as well as your health by quitting the fags? If the obvious health benefits haven’t convinced you yet, maybe the financial benefits will…
If you give up smoking - for example at New Year, or on National No Smoking Day on 8th March or any other time- you’ll not only save thousands on not buying cigarettes but in 12 months’ time you’ll benefit from cheaper life insurance too.
Life insurers classify you as a smoker if you have used ANY tobacco products in the 12 months prior to applying for life insurance. For well-documented health reasons, smoking raises the chance of you eventually making a claim on your life insurance. Insurers weigh up the likelihood of an applicant making a claim and price the cover accordingly.
The facts
A 35-year-old man in good health will pay £8.85 per month for £100,000
of cover over 20 years if he is a non-smoker. This rises by a staggering 78%
to £15.75 if he is classed as a smoker – costing him £1,656
extra over the term of his policy.*
It does not get much better for a woman in the same circumstances; her cover would rise 72% from £7.25 to £12.45 per month.*
Honesty is the only policy
If you do smoke it is not worth trying to cover up the fact in order to pay
less. If your smoking comes to light when the insurer is assessing a claim,
they can easily refuse to pay out.
You may even be asked, as part of the application process, to take a saliva test to confirm that you are a non-smoker. If you have lied, your application may be declined and other insurers could then refuse to cover you.
Paying the right price
It’s simple: if you want life insurance and you are a smoker it’s
going to cost more.
If the potential savings have tempted you to give up, or you are giving up anyway, then look to change your policy 12 months after using your last tobacco product, knowing that the insurer will newly classify you as a non-smoker.
If you have survived 12 months without a cigarette, don’t forget to tell your insurance company. Shop around online to find the best deals when renewing your policy - it is likely that the best premium will be from a different life insurance provider to the one you currently use.
Reasons to quit:
- Health – you’ll feel and look better and fitter and may live longer
- Cash – you’ll save hundreds on your life insurance as well as the fag packets
- Warmth - legislation will ban smoking in the workplace and all pubs, clubs and restaurants in England by 2007 so if you want to smoke you will be out in the cold. Some already have a total ban in place.
*Figures sourced by Insurancewide.com from an insurer website as at 24th February 2006
Use our smoking calculator to find out how much you could save if you gave up
