Smoking is the chief cause of unpredictable deaths in today's world as it gives birth to critical illnesses like cancer, stroke, heart disease and COPD. As per WHO, it accounts for nearly 1.35 million deaths every year and hence it’s very injurious to health. Term insurance for smokers is crucial to secure their family's future after their sudden demise.
But the frequent question arises, does smoking affect term insurance premiums? If yes, how much extra premium do smokers have to pay for term insurance? In this blog, you will get to know all your answers, so keep browsing it till the end.
How much extra premium do smokers have to pay for term insurance?
Most people ask, are smokers eligible for term insurance? The answer is yes. If you are planning to buy a term plan online or offline, you must know that the insurers typically ask a set of questions to check whether you have ever consumed tobacco products and/or nicotine patches or gum. If your answer is yes, then you are considered to be a smoker.
Indulging in smoking can result in various chronic ailments of the heart, lungs and immune system. Whether you smoke occasionally or frequently, you have to pay extra premiums as decided by the company. A person classified as a ‘smoker’ has to pay 50 to 100 per cent more premium considering the frequency of tobacco consumption and the type of tobacco being consumed.
A brief guide to term insurance for smokers
The term insurance plan for smokers is beneficial in that they can choose to secure the future of their loved ones in their absence. As smokers are considered to be at high risk and generally have a shorter lifespan, they have to pay extra premiums for term plans.
The premiums for regular and occasional smokers' term insurance are particularly determined by the insurance company after the medical test that is done to examine the age, health, family history, and type of policy.
Term insurance premium for smokers vs non-smokers
Based on health issues and lifestyle, insurance companies classify smokers into three different categories:
Preferred smokers (they smoke but are fit)
Typical smokers (with minor health issues)
Table-rate smokers (have major health issues)
Also, they make a distinction between these when it comes to their premium costs.
If we compare term premium costs for smokers and non-smokers, then the former has a higher value. Term insurance for smokers is 50-80% higher as compared to that of non-smokers. The reason is that smokers have a poor quality of life, so a preferred smoker has a lesser premium value than the typical and table-rate smokers.
What if I start smoking after taking term insurance?
If you want to get adequate benefits from the term plan, then you should not lie about your smoking habits. Whether you started smoking before or after taking the term plan, you should tell the insurer and they will evaluate your premium and may continue the policy.
Having transparency throughout the policy helps your family to gain cover for their financial stability. But in case the policyholder lies about smoking, then it is taken as a breach of trust and could result in dire consequences.
To conclude, the term insurance plan will come in your favour, if you quit smoking and attain a healthy lifestyle. If you want to know about ‘which is the best term insurance plan for smokers’, then the answer differs from person to person depending on their lifestyle factors.
