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- Quit smoking and benefit from cheaper life insurance

Have you got or are you thinking about buying life insurance?

Whatever your situation, there's no time like the present when it comes to sorting out life cover. And speaking of the present, No Smoking Day on 11 March is the perfect time to remind us that smoking has a major effect on the cost of insurance premiums.

Not only does smoking automatically increase the premium of a life insurance policy but it also narrows down the availability of policies on hand for those who smoke. If you look at the facts and figures about the effects smoking has on people's health and expenses, it becomes very hard to not consider quitting. After all, with the smoking ban making it difficult to light up in public, smoking has become an impractical habit anyway.

Although this is undoubtedly a stressful time with the credit crunch looming over all our heads, puffing away at an average of £5 per pack of 20 is not going to solve any problems, in fact, it's quite the opposite. The credit crunch is now in full swing leaving us all desperate to cut costs wherever we can, yet we’re still spending a fortune on cigarettes. Here are few facts just to put things into perspective:

• Smokers spend an average of £676 a year on the habit and that is before the cost of the actual cigarettes!
• Research by the NHS has revealed the hidden costs of smoking, which include tailored hygiene products, such as lotions and toothpastes, dry-cleaning bills, furniture repair for cigarette burns and higher life and health insurance premiums, can add up to more than £600 a year.
• A 20-a-day smoker will spend around £1,825 a year on cigarettes so even if you only smoke half that amount, that’s still £912.50 a year.
• By taking into account all these various costs, the cost for a smoker of 20 cigarettes day, including the 'hidden costs' comes to a total of £2,500 a year.

Life insurance and smoking…the way it works:

Smoking, as we all know, is a habit which is considered to seriously jeopardise your health and increase the risk of heart, mouth, throat and lung-related diseases. From the insurance companies’ point of view, this means that the likelihood of you making a life insurance claim is higher and therefore your premium should also be higher. In order to ensure that they have enough money to pay out claims, insurance companies need to evaluate the odds of a policyholder making a claim before they can price a policy. Therefore, if you’re putting your health at risk by smoking, you are more likely to make a life insurance claim and therefore are more likely to pay a higher premium for your policy. According to one insurer, life insurance premiums for smokers are likely to be around one third higher than for non-smokers so stub out your unhealthy and costly habit and you can start looking around for a competitively priced life insurance policy with online insurance comparison companies. Here are some facts about the relationship between smoking and life insurance premiums:

• On average, 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.
• If, however, this man is classed as a smoker, the premium rises by an astounding 78% to £15.75– costing him £1,656 extra over the term of his policy.
• In the case of a woman classed as a smoker, the premium would rise by 72% from £7.25 to £12.45 per month.
• Most life insurance companies will classify you as a non-smoker once you have stopped smoking for a year. 12 months on from lighting up your last cigarette you could save over 60% on your existing life insurance premium.
• It is worth noting that when you apply for a life insurance policy you must always make sure you tell the truth about your medical history and smoking status. Failure to disclose such important facts could mean you won't be paid out on a claim you make.

How to find the right life insurance policy?

Finding the right life insurance policy for you can be a long and complicated process but with the help of insurance comparison websites you can find tailor-made policies and competitive premiums in a matter of a few clicks. You can also use comparison websites to learn all about life insurance as well as obtain some useful tips on what you need to consider when looking for insurance.

Look after your health and quit risky habits such as smoking and with the help of a few insurance comparison websites you’re all set to find a competitively-priced policy that meets all your life insurance requirements.