Why is a healthy lifestyle important for life insurance premiums?
A healthy lifestyle is important because it can have a positive impact on your overall health, wellbeing and life expectancy. This means there’s less risk of you making a life insurance claim. So, maintaining a healthier lifestyle could be the key to reducing the cost of your life insurance premiums – without sacrificing your level of cover.
On the other hand, there are several lifestyle habits or choices that can negatively affect your life expectancy. And the lower your life expectancy, the higher your insurance premium is likely to be.
What’s considered a healthy lifestyle?
According to the NHS, the key ingredients to a healthy lifestyle are making sure you:
Have a balanced diet – a healthy diet includes a variety of fruit and vegetables, fibre, protein and plenty of fluids. Foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar should be eaten less often.
Maintain a healthy weight – for most adults, a healthy BMI range is between 18.5 to 24.9.
Don’t drink to excess – although there’s no completely safe level of alcohol consumption, the NHS recommends drinking no more than 14 alcohol units a week, spread across three days or more.
Exercise regularly – it’s recommended that adults aged between 19 to 64 do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, evenly spread over four to seven days a week.
Some life insurance policies will encourage you to follow a healthy lifestyle, and will provide apps and advice for your physical and mental health.
What lifestyle factors affect life insurance premiums?
There are certain lifestyle factors, above others, that could affect your life insurance premiums.
Smoking
Smoking puts you at a higher risk of developing serious health issues, so you’ll likely pay more for your premium.
You may be eligible for a lower premium if you:
Don’t smoke
Have stopped smoking
Haven’t used any tobacco-related products (including nicotine patches and e-cigarettes) within the past 12 months.
Mental health
Depending on the severity of your symptoms, a diagnosed mental health condition could mean you’ll pay more for your life insurance. Mental health problems can range from anxiety or depression, to bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
If you’ve had a serious health condition for a long time, you may find it harder to get life insurance as providers may see you as high risk. Life insurance can still be an option, but you may need to look for cover from a specialist provider.
Weight
If your BMI (Body Mass Index) is too high or too low, you may pay more for your life insurance premiums.
A high Body Mass Index (BMI) could indicate obesity. According to the NHS, around one in four adults in the UK is living with obesity. Obesity increases the risk of developing a serious health condition, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease or a stroke.
Insurance providers may also consider being underweight a risk, as a low BMI can also lead to serious health issues. It could indicate a mental health condition, such as depression, and eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.
Alcohol and drug use
The number of alcohol units you consume per week can have an impact on the cost of your life insurance. Heavy drinking could lead to serious health conditions, such as high blood pressure and liver disease, increasing the risk of an earlier death.
If you drink more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week, you’ll be considered a heavy drinker and likely pay more for your premiums.
Past and present drug use – even occasional – could mean a higher premium or insurance providers refusing to cover you at all. Drug use can be defined as any type of drug not prescribed by your GP, including cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin and un-prescribed steroids.
It’s important to note that life insurance providers won’t pay out for a death due to alcohol or drug abuse.
Sports and hobbies
If you’re an extreme sports enthusiast, you’ll most likely be young, fit and healthy. However, you may still find your life insurance premiums are more expensive. This is because extreme sports, such as skydiving, rock climbing and scuba diving, are considered high-risk, dangerous activities.
What else influences the cost of life insurance?
Life insurance premiums are also influenced by:
Your family’s medical history
Overseas travelling habits – international travel, especially to countries considered dangerous, could affect your life expectancy
Your job – for example, being in the Army or working at height are considered high-risk occupations
Pre-existing medical conditions, if you have any.
The other big influence on the cost of life insurance is the level of cover you choose. The higher the level of cover, the more you’ll typically pay.
While it’s important to get the cover you need, you’ll also want to avoid paying more than you have to. To get an idea of how much cover you might need, use our life insurance calculator.
Do I have to tell my life insurance provider about my lifestyle?
When you apply for life insurance, you’ll be asked questions about your lifestyle. A provider may also ask to see your medical records.
It’s never a good idea to hide anything from your insurance provider, even if you think it will help save you money. If your provider finds out that you haven’t been entirely truthful, they could reduce or refuse any pay-out after you die.
Can I get life insurance that doesn’t take my lifestyle into account?
It’s possible to get life insurance with no medical, so your lifestyle choices shouldn’t count.
Over 50s insurance typically offers guaranteed acceptance, regardless of health or lifestyle – although whether you smoke will affect your premium. However, there’s usually a waiting period before a claim can be made on the policy and you may end up paying in more than your policy will pay out.
For term life insurance, most insurance providers will take into account your lifestyle choices, and ask about your medical history and any pre-existing medical conditions.
If you have a pre-existing condition, your insurance provider may ask to see your medical records, or ask that you undergo a medical, before deciding on whether to offer you cover. However, they can’t access your medical records without your permission.
FAQs
What is my BMI?
Your BMI (Body Mass Index) is a measure of whether you’re a healthy weight in relation to your height. It can be used to indicate whether you’re at risk of obesity or are underweight. For most adults, a healthy BMI range is between 18.5 to 24.9.
The NHS has a healthy weight BMI calculator that can help you check what range your BMI is in.
Does vaping count as smoking for insurance?
Yes, most insurance providers count vaping and smoking as the same thing. This means that if your vape, your premiums could be higher compared to those of a non-smoker.
Some providers will class you as a non-smoker if you only vape liquid with 0% nicotine. But it depends on the individual provider.
Will a fitness tracker lower my premiums?
Simply buying and wearing a fitness tracker won’t affect the cost of your life insurance. But if you use one to help monitor and improve your overall health, it could result in a cheaper premium.
If my health status changes, will it affect my policy?
Generally, you don’t need to notify your life insurance provider of any changes to your health or lifestyle. It doesn’t matter whether you become more or less healthy, your premium stays the same.
Life insurance tends to be cheaper the younger you are. But if you make positive changes to your health and lifestyle, it might be worth comparing quotes to see if you can save money with a new life insurance policy.
For over 20 years, Tim’s been building and managing relationships with big brands for the benefit of customers. As our expert on all things life, health and income protection, he’s working hard to find the right products that look after you and those you love most.
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