When applying for life insurance, there are several areas of your lifestyle that you have to clarify, some of which include several areas of your past habits and conditions. If you have given up smoking (well done!), you will still need to declare to a life insurance provider that you used to smoke, how many years you smoked for and how many cigarettes a day/to what level e.g. social, daily, that you used to smoke. One thing is for sure, once you quit smoking the only way is up in terms of your health and down in terms of your life insurance premium.

Many life insurance companies will require that you complete a medical exam prior to assuming a policy so there really is no point in hiding a previous smoking habit. In fact, even if you don’t complete a medical exam and later die, even on an unrelated disease to smoking, your policy could be declared null and void if the company can prove that you did not disclose your smoking habit.

Who do life insurance companies classify as a smoker?

The people that life insurance companies classify as smokers can vary from company to company. In general, if you have smoked in the last 12 months, you will still be classified as a “smoker” in the eyes of a life insurance company. If you smoke e-cigarettes, chew tobacco, smoke cigars or use nicotine replacement gum or patches, or have done in the last 12 months, you will usually still be considered a smoker in the eyes of most life insurance companies too.

After 12 months of being smoke free, a life insurance company will consider you an ex-smoker and the longer you remain an ex-smoker, the lower your premium, especially if you quit at a young age. Why? The average life expectancy of a smoker is usually at least 10 years shorter than someone who does not smoke. Smoking can virtually triple a person’s chance of dying from heart disease or cancers. However, if you quit before the age of 40, you could reduce the risk of dying from smoking related diseases by 90%.

Risk classes for non-smokers

For non-smokers, their former habit is not the only thing that gets taken into consideration when calculating a life insurance premium. Why? Because life insurance companies tend to divide non-smokers into various “risk classes” when devising premiums.

• Preferred best: This refers to a non-smoker who is in excellent health with no family history of health issues and who does not participate in activities or occupations that are considered high-risk.
• Preferred: A non-smoker in very good health with only a few minor health issues or concerns.
• Standard: A non-smoker in good health but who may be overweight or have a family history of health issues, hence increasing their risk of dying.
• Sub-standard: A non-smoker in poor health with one or more chronic illnesses/diseases or who participates in dangerous activities.

We hope this guide helps you to understand what is involved in getting life insurance as a non-smoker. As always, it pays to shop around and if you’re currently insured, be sure to inform your life insurance policy provider that you’ve quit smoking as doing so could do your pocket some favours!

The general rule of thumb, no matter what kind of life insurance policy that you have got taken out, is that it should be reviewed every 12 months. Any reputable financial advisor will advise you to review your full life insurance policy and consider any relevant changes in your life that have occurred over that previous year. Additionally, the cost of life insurance premiums are consistently going down, as much as 40% in some cases, so you need to ensure that you review the cost of your life insurance premiums and shop around to make sure you are availing of the best rates.

Reviewing your policy every 12 months is standard, but there are certain instances where you should review and amend your policy immediately too.

These include:

Major Life Events

Should you get married or should your relationship break down, you may need to review the beneficiaries that are listed on your life insurance policy. A major life event may also include the birth of a child or grandchild. You may want to reassess your beneficiaries to include the new arrival or increase the value of your life insurance policy. The death of a loved one is another major life event that may present cause for you to immediately review your life insurance policy.

Financial Windfall

Have you struck lucky and experienced a financial windfall? If you have come into a substantial amount of cash, whether through a lottery win or an inheritance, you’ll need to review your life insurance policy as your worth will have increased. If you are a business owner whose business has taken off and you are now in a much more profitable state, you should also consider speaking to a financial advisor and updating your life insurance policy as the value of your assets may have grown significantly.

Ill Health

Should you be diagnosed with a serious medical condition or experience ailing health, both of these situations call for a sit down and re-evaluation. You should consult a financial advisor about drafting in additional criteria to your life insurance policy in light of your ailing health. Being diagnosed with a serious health condition can be a distressing time and reviewing your life insurance policy may be the last thing on your mind, but it is important if you want to effectively safeguard the future of your family.

Having taken all of the above on board, take a quick moment to think about when the last time was that you reviewed your own life insurance policy. If it has been 12 months or longer, it’s time to be proactive and schedule a meeting to review your current policy and make any adjustments that need to be made.

Once you have this over with, make it a recurring appointment to ensure that you don’t let things slide again. By doing this, you’re giving yourself the best chance of getting the best possible rates and you’re actively ensuring that your policy is 100% relevant and effective in doing what you need it to do.