To highlight No Smoking Day (Wednesday 10th March), people who give up smoking can not only improve their health, but also see a significant reduction in their
life insurance premiums, advises insurance giant, Aviva.
This is backed up by research from Defaqto, the independent financial research company specialising in rating, comparing and analysing financial products, which says smokers could save as much as £1,640 a year by quitting but could also benefit from cheaper life assurance - even if they were smokers when they took out their policy.
Aviva data shows that the number of smokers has decreased in the last year. However, one in seven (15 per cent) Aviva customers are still smoking, meaning they pay more for their life insurance premiums than non-smokers.
All the available medical evidence shows that not only does quitting smoking reduce the risk of life threatening illness such as cancer and heart attacks. Moreover, says Aviva, by quitting smoking, they may be able to help protect their family by purchasing life insurance with some of the money they save, meaning they can achieve peace of mind, at no extra cost.
It's not only the people who have never touched a cigarette who benefit from reduced life insurance premiums. Anyone who quits smoking for a year is classed as a non-smoker and will receive the same lower premiums, says Aviva and this is corroborated by independent research from Defaqto.
"For a male aged 25, wanting £100,000 of life assurance, if he smokes it will cost him on average 62 per cent more than if he is a non-smoker,” said Ben Heffer, insight analyst at Defaqto.
“Typically, for a 25 year old in good health a £100,000 of cover costs between just £5 and £7 per month, roughly the cost of 20 cigarettes; a smoker could pay as much as £10 or £12 per month.
"Most insurers will class you as a non-smoker if you have not smoked cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco for 12 months, but it is important that you are truthful on the application form because if you do not disclose the full facts, your cover could be invalid.”
Louise Colley, head of protection for Aviva, said; "It's encouraging to see our statistics showing people are giving up. We want to encourage people to think about the effect of smoking, not only on themselves but also on the people they care about.
“It's not a nice message, but the facts are there. Smoking is a danger to people's health, that's why it costs less for non-smokers to buy life insurance and critical illness policies.
“
Life insurance companies offer the opportunity for financial security and peace of mind financially for loved ones, but it's doesn't protect customers’ health - quitting smoking is a crucial step for people to protect themselves."
Find out the latest deals on life insurance by receiving our
MoneyMaker newsletter.
