People who quit smoking this time last year and quit cigarettes can get half the cost of life insurance premiums.
xperts at insurer Royal London said smokers who quit in January could be willing to make huge savings on their coverage next year.
The new numbers from the protection specialist highlight how different smoking can make to the cost of life and mortgage protection insurance.
Smokers can pay twice as much life insurance as non-smokers.
Every January, thousands of people aim to quit smoking.
“It’s common to hear stories of people who saved money by not buying cigarettes over a year and motivate themselves by dedicating it to a car or vacation,” said Karen Gallagher of Royal London in Ireland.
But a less common motivating factor is saving thousands of euros that could be saved to cover their lives, she said.
“The price difference here is quite large. Our experience is that while many people expect smokers to pay more premiums, many do not realize how much of the increase is added over the life of the policy.”
She said a 45-year-old smoker on his next birthday would pay more than 18,000 euros in premiums than a non-smoker would.
This is based on €300,000 of life-wide coverage over a 25-year period.
The same smoker can expect to pay €68,000 more than a non-smoker for a specific critical illness policy of €300,000 over 25 years.
The insurance company said Ireland is a recognized world leader when it comes to tobacco control, but smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in this country.
“This is according to HSE, which says one in every smoker will die from a tobacco-related disease, and nearly 6,000 people in Ireland die each year from smoking-related diseases,” Ms Gallagher said.
Statistics from the 2021 Ireland Health Survey show that people’s smoking habits in Ireland have changed, with fewer people lighting up than five years ago.
Overall, the number of smokers in Ireland has fallen from 23 percent in 2016 to 18 percent in 2021.
However, statistics show that middle-aged people now smoke more than young adults.
This is evidenced by the fact that the percentage of smokers is the highest among those aged 45 to 54 years, where 24% are smokers.
Only 20% of 25-34 year olds smoke.
Ms Gallagher said that if you wish to be reclassified as a non-smoker for life insurance purposes, you must not have used any tobacco products in the past 12 months and have no intention of using any in the future.
This includes e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement products such as patches or chewing gum.
In addition to providing some health-related information, your insurance provider may ask you to complete a cotinine test (smoker’s test).
She said this is a simple test that involves checking a sample of saliva or urine for tobacco use.
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