Smoking and cigarettes - Giving up the gaspers triggers plummet in life insurance premiums, says MoneyNet.co.uk

Smokers motivated by National No Smoking Day to quit the weed can save £££££s

SMOKERS planning on stubbing out once and for all on the 25th annual National No Smoking Day on March 12 could find the prospect of saving more than £3,000 a year is the extra incentive they need to quit for good, says financial data comparison site Moneynet.co.uk.

That’s how much a 60-year-old smoker on a 20-a-day habit wanting life insurance will see going up in smoke every year.

'The cost of buying cigarettes is just the headline rate,' says Moneynet.co.uk chief executive Richard Brown. 'The real cost is much greater when you take into account raised premiums for life cover, especially for older smokers who face double the cost of insurance for a non-smoking contemporary.'

'And with the annual anti-smoking campaign falling on Budget Day this year, that figure is likely to rise even higher if the Chancellor slaps an extra 10p on a packet as hoped for by anti-smoking campaigners.'

Younger men will also be left gasping at the levy on their life premiums for being a smoker. A 40-year-old smoker will have to cough up £21.74 a month to Aegon Scottish Equitable compared to £11.62 for a non-smoker – nearly twice as much just because they smoke.

Since the smoking ban came into effect across the whole of the UK last year, puffing in public has greatly diminished but those who still smoke in the privacy of their own homes should resist the temptation to portray themselves as ex-smokers on life cover applications.

'Smokers who declare they have given up but continue to smoke, no matter how infrequently, will be paying for nothing should they die from a smoking related condition,' says Brown. 'The policy simply won’t pay out and their beneficiaries will be the losers.'
 

Life Insurance Guaranteed Premiums £100k level term cover over 20 years
	Aged 30	Aged 40	Aged 50	Aged 60
Male Smoker	Royal Liver £9.73	Aegon Scot Equit £21.74	L & G £62.70	Norwich Union £181.30
Norwich Union £181.30	Axa £6.62	Aegon Scot Equit £11.62	Norwich Union £28.80	Norwich Union £84.30
Female Smoker	Royal Liver £7.68	Aegon Scot Equit £17.55	L & G £48.50	Aegon Scot Equit £138.72
Aegon Scot Equit £138.72	Aegon Scot Equit £5.56	Aegon Scot Equit £9.48	L & G £22.10	Norwich Union £63.30
Source: Moneynet.co.uk, 06 March 2008

Usually smokers won’t be classed as non-smokers until at least a year has passed without touching a cigarette so they will need to stamp out the habit now to start saving in 12 months time.

'Those who have succeeded in giving up smoking – and have been 'clean' for more than a year – could find that they can reduce their current life cover premiums,' he adds.

'If you no longer smoke and your health is unchanged your current provider may be prepared to change your status to that of a non-smoker and cut your premiums. If they won’t, it could be worth shopping around for a new policy elsewhere.

For more information visit MoneyNet