Save thousands quitting smoking

Giving up smoking could save policyholders thousands on their life insurance, according to new analysis.



No Smoking Day, which is fast approaching on March 14th, and the smoking ban, which will prohibit smoking in all enclosed places in England from July 1st, are likely to act as a catalyst for many people to quit.

And with life insurance premiums for non-smokers half the cost of those for smokers, there is more than one reason to kick the habit.

Moneysupermarket.com calculated that a 35-year-old man wanting life insurance cover for £100,000 over 25 years would pay £19.15 a month with Legal & General if he was a smoker, but just £8.50 a month if a non-smoker, a saving of 56 per cent or £2,550 over the long term. Some other providers offered even larger savings.

Head of life insurance at the price comparison site Emma Walker advised that smokers must have kicked the habit for a full year to qualify for life insurance premium savings.

She said: "The difference in premiums between a smoker and a non-smoker is vast and there are significant additional savings to be made simply by shopping around for the cheapest deal to suit your circumstances."

Younger people 'shun life cover'

The number of people aged 35 and under buying life cover fell by five per cent in January, a trend which has been described as "worrying".

Figures from protection specialist LifeSearch showed that the age group represented 31 per cent of all protection policies written by the firm during the period.

The firm also claimed that younger people can make "poor product choices", with those aged 18 to 29 nearly six times more likely to insure their life (74 per cent) than their income (13 per cent).

It found that only 12 per cent of this age group thought they had bought a product which best suited their circumstances, while 37 per cent had bought their product based solely on price rather than comprehensiveness.

Kevin Carr, head of protection strategy at the company, said that more work needed to be done to reach the 35 and under age group so that they fully understand why protection is important and which type of cover is best for their circumstances.

He commented: "Many are either buying no financial protection at all, or are relying on the internet to get the best deal, which might work in car insurance, but not with financial protection."

Nearly one in ten adults admit to making fraudulent insurance claims, according to a poll from Experian.

Insurances Limited “With young putting off starting a family or even finding a partner for marriage then it is expected that life insurance will become less important to the young in future years. It is only with responsibilities that we see an increase in life cover.”

Armed forces to benefit from new life cover scheme

Servicemen and women are to get access to a new life insurance scheme exclusively for the armed forces, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Armed Forces minister Adam Ingram announced that the MoD, in association with Sterling Life, had developed a new guaranteed life assurance plan which is tailored to the specific needs of service personnel.

The MOD said that service personnel can find it difficult to get affordable and guaranteed life cover that includes war and terrorism risks and stated that the new Service Life Insurance scheme will complement existing death-in-service arrangements available to the armed forces.

Extra premiums will not be applied to "high risk" trades such as bomb disposal and cover is guaranteed for up to 25 years, with premium rates guaranteed not to increase for the life of the policy.

Mr Ingram commented: "Cover is available to each and every serviceman or woman across every unit, ship and regiment at every stage of their career. Whatever their job, wherever they are."

The move has been welcomed by the Association of British Insurers, which stated that it had advised the MoD on the matter.

Insurances Limited “It is about time the MOD revamped the aging scheme, we expect better innovation from all those offering Life Cover schemes.”

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