08/03/2010
Smokers save as much as £1,6401 a year by quitting but could also benefit from cheaper life assurance even if they were smokers when they took out their policy.
Ben Heffer, Insight Analyst at Defaqto says: “For a male aged 25, wanting £100,000 of life assurance, if he smokes it will cost him on average 62% more than if he is a non-smoker. Typically, for a 25 year old in good health a £100,000 of cover costs between just £5 and £7 per month, roughly the cost of 20 cigarettes; a smoker could pay as much as £10 or £12 per month."
Mr Heffer goes on to say: “Most insurers will class you as a non-smoker if you have not smoked cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco for 12 months, but it is important that you are truthful on the application form because if you do not disclose the full facts, your cover could be invalid. But smokers should also be aware that there are still some savings to be had with the right providers for efforts to give up or stop.”
Insurers that give non-smoker rates to those wearing a nicotine patch:
|
Provider |
Product name
|
Typical rate for male aged 25, £100k cover 25ys
|
Typical rate for female aged 25, £100k cover 25yrs
|
|
Fixed Term Life Cover
|
£12.93
|
£10.38
|
|
|
Life Cover
|
£5.85
|
£4.64
|
|
|
Self Assurance
|
£6.70
|
£5.96
|
Insurers that will reduce premiums if you stop smoking:
|
Provider
|
Product name
|
Reduction2
|
Saving over policy term
|
Defaqto Star Rating3
|
|
Personal protection
|
£2.68
|
£804
|
||
|
Protection account
|
£2.94
|
£882
|
||
|
Lifestyle protection
|
£3.13
|
£939
|
||
|
Life cover
|
£3.19
|
£957
|
||
|
Your Life Cover
|
£3.47
|
£1,041
|
||
|
Fixed Term Life
|
£5.75
|
£1,725
|
||
|
Term Assurance
|
£2.21
|
£663
|
||
|
Flexible protection plan
|
£3.45
|
£1,035
|
Being a non smoker is the best way to keep premiums down and according to our research, taken across the board the best life insurance deals are currently with Axa or Aviva.
1A person smoking on average 15 cigarettes a day @ £6.00 per packet of 20 could spend £1,640 a year on cigarettes.
2 Premium reduction for converting to non-smoker status calculated from the difference between standard smoker and non-smoker rates for Male aged 25 over 25 year term.
3 We currently do not rate life assurance only plans. Those indicated have been rated in our life assurance plus critical illness category.
-Ends-
Notes to editors:
Ben Heffer is an Insight Analyst for Life and Protection
Ben graduated from Leeds University in 1984 and, after a spell in the civil service, entered the financial services industry working first for Bradford & Bingley Building Society and then at Countrywide Independent Advisers as a pensions researcher. In April 1994, Ben helped to establish the new company and the launch of the very first release of Aequos. Initially a pension specialist, in the course of his career with Defaqto, Ben has at various times been involved with annuities, investments, statistics, general database management and, latterly, the Defaqto Service Project. He now works in the Insight team with special responsibility for the life and protection brief.
For further information please contact:
Ben Heffer
01844 295447
About Defaqto: www.defaqto.com
Defaqto is an independent financial research company specialising in rating, comparing and analysing financial products.
Since 1994, Defaqto has built the largest, whole of market, financial product database and become one of the leading providers of financial product data in the UK. We now cover over 30,000 products across banking, life, pensions, investments and general insurance.
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