Unhealthy Lifestyle Habits and Their Impact on Term Life Insurance

When people think of term life insurance, they often think of the quality of their health. Life insurance surrounds the concept of health and well being, as it is available as a safety net for those around you when your health or well-being fails. When people think of health, they think of major diseases or problems that people can have that can drastically affect their health. Unfortunately, these people fail to realize the other aspects of health that can impact their term life insurance rates. If people do not understand how these aspects of health can affect their life insurance premium, they will have a hard time trying to figure out why their rates may be higher than comparable policies for healthier people. It is important to understand how alcohol, smoking and weight can all affect term insurance and how they can affect rates.

Alcohol’s Affect on Term Life Insurance

Alcohol is something that is easier for insurance companies to track than one may realize. Many people think that it is nearly impossible for these insurance companies to fully understand their alcohol consumption. Due to the testing that is done by insurance companies, this is often miscalculated. Because of the multiple ways companies check, it is much easier for them to understand the relationship that you may have with alcohol. A simple questionnaire can help them to determine alcohol usage, but this is not the only check that they do. During the physical, one of the things that insurance companies look for is possible damage caused by alcohol, and the chemicals that are left by a steady increase in drinking. Another way that insurance companies uncover unhealthy alcohol consumption is through the individual’s driving record. If there are any alcohol related issues that are on your record, term life insurance companies will see you as an elevated risk and may adjust your premium (not in your favor) for a policy as needed to reflect that liability.

Smoking and its Affect on Term Life Insurance

It is relatively easy for insurance companies to check on and consider smoking habits of the individual seeking coverage. Again, the questionnaire comes into play as a way to partially understand the relationship between the person and smoking. The medical evaluation (physical) is the easiest way for companies to uncover smoking habits, however. Smoking leaves behind numerous chemicals in your body. During the physical, companies look specifically for these chemicals and the chances that they have heightened levels in your body. By looking at both the chemical levels and the multiple damages to your body, they can fully understand enough of your smoking habit to adjust their rates accordingly.

Weight and Term Life Insurance

If you are either overweight or underweight, you could expect to see some form of increase in your term life insurance. Term life insurance is affected by weight because of the medical and health related ramifications. If you are underweight or overweight, you are potentially putting yourself into a health risk situation. The amount of deaths caused by obesity is rising and life insurance companies are taking notice. While maintaining a healthy weight can help keep your rates right where they are, straying too far away from that healthy size can cost you.

Term life insurance companies are consistently looking at way to track health to understand how healthy you are. A person’s health controls the amount that they have to pay for life insurance, and how much of a liability they are to the company. Understanding how these habits can affect your insurance rates can help you to motivate yourself to live a healthier lifestyle.