When you took out life insurance, you were assessed on a number of factors that can impact your health. No doubt one of the questions you were asked was whether you smoke.

Each year in Australia, it’s estimated that around 19,000 deaths are related to smoking.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, lung cancer, cervical cancer and osteoporosis.

The added risks of smoking are also reflected in what you pay in insurance premiums each year – with smokers generally required to pay more for cover than non-smokers, all other things being equal.

But that’s not to say that can’t change. If you quit smoking, and stay that way, you can ask for a re-assessment of your insurance premiums.

Former smokers may be eligible for a premium reduction if:

▪ You haven’t smoked tobacco or any other substance in the past 12 months

▪ You have no intention of resuming smoking of tobacco or any other substance in the future

▪ You have not been advised to quit smoking on specific medical grounds

▪ You haven’t been advised that you have a medical condition associated with your history of smoking

Not only could you be doing something that’s good for your health, you could also save yourself a considerable amount of money.

For a 45 year old male with Life, Total and Permanent Disablement and Trauma Premier Covers, you could save over $3,000 per annum by not smoking.

If you’d like to arrange a re-assessment of your life insurance, speak to IAS.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 26th, 2010 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Community, Personal Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.