Does My Smoking Habit Affect My Insurance Rates?
You already know that your smoking habit is bad for your health and may affect many
aspects of your life, including your job and your social interactions. And you probably also know that because you smoke and it is considered a high-risk behavior, that you will pay significantly more in premiums for your health and life insurance policies than would a non-smoker.You might not know, however, that your smoking also raises the premiums on your homeowners insurance, and it can also play a part in the cost of your auto insurance.
According to the U.S. Fire Association, nearly 1,000 people are killed every year in home fires that are caused by cigarettes. Twenty-five percent of the people killed in fires were not the smoker; one-third of those were the smokers children, and another twenty-five percent were neighbors or friends of the smoker.
Cigarettes and cooking are the major causes of preventable home fires. Cigarettes cause only 7% of home fires, but they cause 29% of fire-related deaths. Consequently, the insurance company will most likely charge more in premiums for a policyholder who smokes, versus one who doesnt.
The numbers according to the NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association) are alarming. In 2010, a home fire occurred on average every 85 seconds, or a total of 369,500 homes, and caused $6.9 billion in damages.
12% of home fires occur in the living room, family room or bedroom of the home, but these fires account for 50% of deaths. And 62% of those fires occurred in homes with no working smoke alarms.
The best thing you can do, other than quit smoking in your house completely, is to practice safe smoking habits. Make sure that there is one working smoke detector/alarm on every floor of your house, and test them frequently. Encourage smokers to smoke outside the house instead of inside. Dont smoke in the evening, when you may be tired or less careful, and never, ever smoke in bed.
And when you are in your car, be sure to pay attention to the road. Lighting a cigarette, or extinguishing one, can cause you to take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel, and this can cause an accident. It is actually even more distracting that talking on a cell phone or eating, because of the danger of dropping the lit cigarette on your lap. One study in 2005 found that the risk of death doubles when the driver is smoking.
So while your auto insurance agent will likely not ask if you smoke as a factor in calculating your policy premiums, you are definitely at higher risk of an accident due to the fact that you smoke, and after you have an accident your premiums will certainly rise. The best way to stay safe, for both yourself and your passengers, is not to smoke when you are driving.
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