How Smoking Impacts Your Term Insurance Policy

By Author: Harish Kumar
Total Articles: 3

Term Insurance being the most basic type of life insurance, it is extremely popular amongst most people. It has affordable premiums, a fixed duration of coverage and a sufficiently high death benefit for the families of policy holders. While there are certain rules, conditions and restrictions to buy a term insurance plan, smokers too can opt for a term life insurance policy by paying a a slightly higher premium. Providers hike the cost of the policy due to the added health risk caused by smoking. There are a few things that every smoker looking to buy a term insurance plan should know.

When applying for an insurance plan, the company will ask you about your usage of tobacco products like cigars, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco in the last 12 months. They will also inquire about the frequency of smoking. It is not wise to withhold the fact that you smoke from your insurance provider as it could later lead to your family’s claim being denied. There are also cases where the insurance company has sued the policy holder and held them accountable for lying while buying the policy. While it is easy to lie on paper about your smoking habits, many term insurance providers require a medical checkup before finalizing the terms of the policy. It is impossible to hide the traces of nicotine in these detailed medical tests.

If you have recently quit smoking or are in the process of quitting, you can appeal to your provider to consider your case. Many companies are known to reduce the premium price for holders who have quit, or are quitting smoking, with the condition that the policy holder will not resume smoking during the policy term. It is also necessary for non-smoking policy holders to inform the company if they begin habitual smoking sometime in the policy duration. The company will adjust the premium in accordance with their rules and you will not loose your policy.

Insurance companies differentiate between smokers by dividing them into 3 categories, namely:
Table rated smokers i.e. those with physical condition, preferred smokers who are otherwise fit, and typical smokers who have minor health issues. The premium prices differ across these categories, with some being more expensive than the others. Regardless, with the large number of policy providers in the market, cheap and affordable term life insurance policies are not difficult to find for smokers of any category. Thus, don’t let your habit of smoking deter you from getting a term life insurance policy.

Visit http://tataaia.com/life-insurance-plans/protection-plans/protection-plans.html to get all the information you need regarding term life insurance policy.