subject: Throw Away Your Cigars Or Pay More For Your Life Insurance [print this page] You might have made faces every time any of your friends had asked you to get rid of your puffing habits. Now, when youre thinking of buying a life insurance policy, you must be realizing how valuable their advices had been. You may compare insurance quotes of different insurers to make your life insurance policy affordable. However, once your insurer comes to know that youre a smoker, hell charge high rates on your life insurance policy.
Why does smoking affect life insurance rates?
Smoking affects your health. Those who smoke will presumably be suffering from ongoing health issues. It will, thus, obviously affect their life expectancy. The insurers determine the rates on life insurance policies depending upon the life expectancy of an individual. Since smokers are considered as high risk by the insurers, the rates on their life insurance policies are also high.
Which type of product consumption will affect your rates?
Youll have to pay the high premium rates that the smokers are charged if you consume any type of nicotine or tobacco products. Thus, apart from the cigarettes, consumption of other tobacco products like rolling tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, Gutka, Swedish Snus and tobacco water will also affect your insurance rates. Youll also have to pay more if you use cigars, nicotine patch or nicotine gums.
How much more is paid by a smoker for his policy?
The premium rates that a smoker has to pay for his life insurance can be around 40% to 100% more than what is paid by a non-smoker. On an average, a smoker has to pay 60% more than his/her non-smoker counterpart. The health history of the individual affects the rates that the insurer charges for his/her policy.
How do the insurers determine that youre a smoker?
Everyone who goes out to buy a life insurance policy has to undergo medical tests, which determine the condition of his or her health. Besides, those who apply for their life insurance policies are also required to disclose their smoking habits or tobacco and nicotine consumption.
What if you lie about your nicotine or tobacco intake?
You can obviously try to lie about your nicotine consumption while you apply for your life insurance policy. But if the medical tests reveal any residue of nicotine in your organs, blood or urine, youll have to pay the smokers rate only.
If the insured dies of any illness later on and the insurance company finds out he or she had a habit of smoking, they are simply going to deny the coverage. This will put the beneficiary at a loss, since the death benefits wont be paid to him or her.
What happens if you quit?
Quitting will not have any immediate effect on the life insurance policy. The non-smokers rate will only come into effect if an individual has completely quit smoking for the past 12 months or so.
You can at least try to cut down on your insurance costs, if you quit smoking. Youll just have to approach the insurer, state that you have stopped tobacco consumption, and ask for revised insurance quotes. Thereby you can enjoy a lower premium rate that is applicable for the non smokers.
by: Juanita Martinez
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