More than half the UK population is overweight, around a quarter smoke and one third of men (and a fifth of women) drink more than their recommended weekly allowance.The result is poorer health, huge outgoings on these bad habits and higher life insurance premiums. However, there are five simple steps you can take that will have a dramatic effect on all of these.
Step 1: stop smoking
This is tough, but will have the most profound effect on your premiums. It has been linked to diseases including lung cancer, heart disease, strokes and even type 2 diabetes.
The Continuous Mortality Investigation found it has more of an impact on your life expectancy than gender. Male smokers aged 60 have a 106 in 10,000 chance of dying at that age compared with non-smoking 60-year-old men, whose risk of dying at that age is 48 in 10,000. It also revealed that a 60-year old female smoker has an estimated 85 in 10,000 chance of dying, compared with a 35 in 10,000 chance for a non-smoking female.
Unsurprisingly, this has a big impact on life insurance premiums. Depending on the insurer, you could see premiums rise between 50% and 60% as a smoker; that's as much as £3,600, assuming you take out cover for 50 years.
The good news is that by giving up smoking, after a certain period, some life insurance providers will treat you as if you have never smoked. You will need to come clean about your status as an ex-smoker, but as long as you've been tobacco-free for the period your insurer insists on, you may not have your insurance premium loaded.
Step 2: reduce alcohol intake
The recommended maximum alcohol consumption levels are 28 units a week for a man or 21 for a woman. Matt Morris, PR manager for broker Lifesearch says: "As soon as you drink more than 30 units a week, your insurer will start to take an interest."
Alcohol can cause serious harm, including liver diseases, heart diseases, cancer throughout the gastro-intestinal tract, kidney problems and nervous disorders, as a result it will bump up your premiums. Morris says anyone drinking more than 40 units a week will face higher premiums, and while this will vary according to the insurer and other associated health factors, this could be between 25% and 50%, which will cost anywhere between £1,500 and £3,000 over the life of the policy.
Step 3: lose weight
According to the World Health Organisation, almost a quarter of people in the UK are obese, which is defined as anyone with a body mass index of over 30. At this point your body becomes a danger to your health. Obese people are at an increased risk from heart disease, type two diabetes, and cancer, of the colon, oesophagus and kidney.
If you are obese, insurers are likely to hike your lifeinsurance premium or may even refuse to cover you. Most won't load anything below 30 - although some start to charge more as soon as you hit a BMI of 27. As a rough rule of thumb, according to Lifesearch, a BMI of 30-37 could mean a 50% rise in your premium, and over 37 could be declined. This means that over 50 insured years you could pay an extra £3,000.
Dropping a bit of this weight can have a dramatic effect on your health. Losing 5% to 10% of your weight can lower a your chances of developing coronary heart disease or having a stroke. Add in some exercise and you could reduce your risk from diabetes and cancer too. To get a cut in premiums you may have to shop around for new insurance again, as your insurer may refuse to adjust your cover.
Step 4: take the safe route
Give up adrenaline-fuelled sports, such as bungee jumping, cliff jumping, jet boating, mountain boarding, paragliding, power kiting or quad biking. These have high risks associated with them. If you were to spend 100 hours gliding, for example, you would have a two in a thousand chance of dying from it. Ben Heffer, principal consultant, life and pensions, for Defaqto, says: "If your hobby is jumping out of aeroplanes it means you'll have an increased risk of premature death".
The risk depends on the frequency with which you do the sport. Morris says: "If it's something you do relatively infrequently - such as scuba-diving on holiday - it's unlikely to affect your premiums. But if it's something you do very frequently then you could see your premiums loaded." Again a very regular paraglider could see premiums bumped up by 50%, which is a £3,000 cost over 50 years.
Step 5: get a check-up
The most simple step is to go to the doctor regularly. Early identification and, if necessary treatment, of a range of conditions mans you'll be healthier and that you can be honest with a new life insurance provider about existing conditions.
So, for example if you have high blood pressure, you could see premiums rise by up to 50%, which is around £3,000 over 50 years. However, if you are having treatment that has brought it down below that level, your premiums won't be so highly loaded.
In all, these five steps could save over £15,000 over your lifetime. You will also find yourself much better off, as your vices can be a tremendous drain on your resources. Stopping a 20-a-day habit, for example, will save you well over £100,000 in a lifetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment