An in-depth piece about term insurance for smokers

There have been several advertisements and commercials in the market that portrays the adverse effect of smoking. While you might not pay heed to the hazardous impacts of smoking on your health, your family might suffer financially as well as emotionally if anything happens to you. For you, the financial well-being of your family might be a priority irrespective of your presence around them. Therefore, you should buy term insurance to ensure the financial sustainability of your family in your absence.

Before you purchase a term policy for your family, you should understand the meaning of a term policy in detail:

What is term plan?

Term insurance can be a sub-subject of traditional life insurance. Since it is a part of life insurance policy, it also aims to protect your loved ones financially from an unfortunate event, such as death, loss of income, physical disability, and so on. If anything happens to you in the future, a term plan can provide a death benefit in the form of a monetary payout to your family members. 

When you buy term insurance, you should pay the premium regularly based on the selected time frame. As a policyholder, you can choose the premium quarterly, monthly, half-yearly, or annually. Term insurance premium can be paid in return for the coverage. If you struggle to pay the premium, your insurer can allow you to make the payment within 30 days called the grace period. However, failure to pay the premium during the grace period can lead to the termination of the term policy.

Typically, term insurance premium might depend on various factors. The factors that can determine the term insurance premium can be as follows:

  • Age
  • Medical history
  • Smoking or drinking habits
  • Coverage
  • Income
  • Gender, etc.

If you have healthy habits, which exclude the consumption of alcohol, cigarettes, or any other drugs, your premium can be relatively cheaper. However, regular intake of cigarettes can lead to the rise in the term insurance premium. Typically, your insurance company can charge the premium amount based on the use of nicotine and your age group at the time of purchase of term life insurance. Moreover, many insurance companies can treat you as a smoker if you use cigarettes, cigars, or chew tobacco.

Due to the fear of high premium, many of you might choose to hide your smoking habits from the insurance company. However, keeping away your smoking habits from your insurer might not be a wise solution. Failure to disclose information about your smoking can lead to consequences in the future. Therefore, let’s go through the following things that can take place if you hide essential detail from your insurer:

  • If your insurer finds out about your smoking habits in your absence, your nominees would be denied the term insurance benefits. 
  • If your insurer gets to know about your smoking habits during the on-going tenure of your term policy, your claims would be rejected.

The chances of learning about your smoking habits can be high. Therefore, you should ensure that you inform your insurer about all the relevant details before purchasing the term policy. Many insurance companies might have different rules and regulations with regards to how long you should be smoke-free. With a term plan, you can ensure your family’s financial stability if something happens to you in the future because of your rigorous smoking habit. 

In a nutshell, term insurance can be an essential part of your life. While purchasing a term policy, you should fill the relevant details in your application form. The accurate representation of your lifestyle can allow your insurer to provide you with term insurance benefits at the right price. Don’t be scared about paying a higher term insurance premium since your family’s financial health can depend on it.