Life Insurance policies that consider lifestyle not just smoking

fatsmoker
fatsmoker Posts: 585
edited May 2017 in The cake stop
I've been looking around the usual comparison sites for life insurance quotes. They are all interested in your smoking history, I smoked until 3 years ago. I use an electronic one now now so still have nicotine intake. But they do not ask about your general health - BMI, obesity, levels of physical activity. At 46 and 12 stone, 150 miles a week on the bike and 2 x 90 minute karate sessions per week I feel as fit as I've ever been. My over 40s 'well man' test at the GPs suggests the same. Anyone know of any company that would offer me a decent rate base don the positives in my life not the smoking negatives? And is cycle commuting considered high risk by insurers?

Comments

  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 16,547
    insurance is based on risk, they've had decades of data on a large population to assess the risk of dying earlier from smoking, it's a huge risk factor and an easy one to catch people out if they fib

    it may be that there's not been the same size and quality of data on being 'fit', or it may be that it doesn't make much difference to death rate

    unless you're going for a policy that requires a medical, the generic insurance policies are just going to play the averages, overall they'll pay out less than they take in premiums

    if you do have a medical i'd bet it'll be looking for signs of increased risk, not whether you're fitter than average and deserving of a better deal

    after all, you may be fit now, but the week after taking out a policy you might decide to slob out, gain 20kg and live on beer and chips!

    there're insurers that 'reward' you for doing xyz, but you have to submit to monitoring and the rewards tend to be discounts on buying stuff from 'partners' rather than discounted premiums
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    You might want to change your name.
    I don't do smileys.

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  • bendertherobot
    bendertherobot Posts: 11,684
    Try Vitality
    My blog: http://www.roubaixcycling.cc (kit reviews and other musings)
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  • type:epyt
    type:epyt Posts: 766
    You only stopped smoking 3 years ago ... How many years did you smoke for (and how many)? The damage is likely already done so why reward you with a lower premium?
    Life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it.
  • slowmart
    slowmart Posts: 4,480
    https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-iss ... c-testing/

    Appreciate life insurance is piece of mind but get yourself DNA tested as it will identify any predisposition towards any possible illness.

    Life insurance companies tried to argue and to bring this feature into further capping off their liabilities although the net effect would have polarised the market meaning those who would have needed insurance would have been priced out and those that would have had a good outcome wouldn't have required life insurance in the first place.

    Of course this doesn't mean you won't get killed some other way....
    “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”

    Desmond Tutu

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