Think smoking is cool? You know what’s NOT cool? Paying sky-high smokers rates for life insurance. In short, smoking and life insurance are not a good match.
Although movies make smoking look really cool…and let’s be honest, it makes gangsters look pretty intimidating…the habit is nothing but a disaster. Not only does it literally suck the years out of your life, you endanger others with the second hand smoke, and you spend RIDICULOUS amounts of money on each pack.
Still unfazed? Here are some startling facts about smoking.
- Cigarette smoking causes nearly one in five deaths each year in the U.S. increases your risk for developing heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other life-threatening diseases
- The average smoker loses 28 minutes of life expectancy for every pack of cigarettes he or she smokes. Overall, smokers have an average life expectancy that is 25 years shorter than that of nonsmokers.
- Secondhand smoke involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people’s cigarettes is responsible for approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers annually in the United States.
- Spontaneous miscarriages, stillbirths and premature deliveries are more common in women who smoke whilst pregnant.
Not only does smoking affect your life quality and expectancy, it hinders you from getting the best rates when applying for life insurance. Because the mortality rates for smokers is higher than non-smokers, premiums are more expensive.
How about this little scenario. “For a $100,000 policy for a 35-year-old man in Connecticut, a healthy nonsmoker would pay $95-$117 per year. By contrast, a healthy smoker would pay $288 to $308 per year. On average, smokers pay three times the premiums of nonsmokers.” (OnlineQuotes.com)
Once you quit smoking, you have to be at least 12 months tobacco free to see any decrease in your life insurance premiums. For the best rates after you quit, most carriers want to see you tobacco free for five years. And don’t even thin about lying about your smoking habits when obtaining a life insurance policy. Your medical exam will show any trace of tobacco in your system, so it’s in your best interest to be honest.
Statistics from MSN Money “Whats-the-price-of-your-vice”, www.lung.org and www.stoppingsmokingtips.com.
