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Your health doesn’t just affect how you feel. It can also influence your life cover premiums. 1Life’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Avron Urison, explains why insurers look at factors like smoking, weight and chronic conditions when calculating premiums. Understanding how your health impacts premiums can help you make informed decisions about your health and your cover.
Your health and your premiums
When you apply for life cover, insurance companies assess your risk. This means that they work out how likely you are to claim sooner rather than later. The poorer your health, the higher your risk of serious illnesses or passing away earlier than expected and the greater the chance of an early claim on your policy. This higher risk means that you could pay more for life cover than a healthy individual. If your health is really poor, an exclusion could also be applied to your policy, or you might be offered reduced benefits such as accidental life cover only. You can read more about exclusions and reduced benefits below.
The top 5 conditions affecting premiums are:
- Smoking and vaping
- Weight or BMI
- Chronic conditions like high cholesterol
- Lifestyle choices like diet and exercise
- Your medical history
Top tip: Do you know what your BMI is? Use this calculator to work it out.
Neglect your health and this is how much more you could pay 😮
Smokers? 50% to 100% more
If you smoke, you are at a much higher risk of developing serious health conditions compared to a non-smoker. Smokers have a shorter life expectancy, by as much as 10 years, compared to non-smokers. As a result, smokers can pay 50% to 100% more for life cover than those who don’t smoke. This could be a premium of R1 000 versus a non-smoker premium of R500 a month. That’s R6 000 a year!
BMI over 30? 25% to +50% more
Globally, 13% of adults are obese, although South Africa has higher numbers with around 31% of men and 68% of women classified as obese. If you are overweight with a BMI of over 30, you have a higher risk of illnesses like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. This could increase your premium by 25% to 50% or more. Exclusions could also be applied to your policy, or you could only qualify for reduced benefits.
A chronic condition? 25% more or reduced benefits
If you have a chronic condition like high blood pressure or diabetes, you could pay as much as R200 more for life cover. You could also be offered reduced benefits.
Top tip: Take out life cover when you are young. Your chances of poor health increase as you age so your premiums will be lower if you take out cover when you are younger.
Reduced benefits and exclusions explained
Reduced benefits are when you are offered accidental life cover instead of comprehensive life cover. Having comprehensive life cover means you are covered for death from natural causes such as cancer and heart attack as well as accidental causes such as a car accident. If you are only covered for accidental benefits, your family can only claim if death was accidental, not natural.
If you have really poor health or a serious condition that is not well managed, you may only be offered accidental death benefits. Insurance companies may also place exclusions on your policy if your health is poor. For example, if you have a heart condition, benefits for death due to any heart related illnesses, such as a heart attack, will be excluded. If you have cancer or a history of cancer, benefits for death due to cancer may be excluded.
Top tip: Download your policy schedule from the WhatsApp service centre or the online policyholder portal if you want to find out if there are any exclusions on your policy or if you qualified for accidental or comprehensive life cover when you took out the policy.
Make healthy choices
The good news is that by managing your health you could pay less for insurance, enjoy better benefits and avoid exclusions. When you look after your health you could also detect any conditions or illnesses early when they are more manageable and cheaper to treat.
- Exercise regularly
- Go for regular health checks
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Don’t smoke or vape
- Monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol
You can learn more about how to care for your health in this interview with Dr Avron.
Top tip: If your health has improved or you have stopped smoking, you can ask for a review of your premium and/or benefits. Call us on 0860 10 53 40 or request a call me back.
Your health and your funeral insurance premium
Funeral insurance is not underwritten, and premiums are based solely on your age, gender and the sum assured. our health does not affect your premium.
Pay less, live better and change your life today
Taking care of your health makes a lot of financial sense, but it also means you can live a better quality of life and enjoy your time with loved ones. Small steps make a difference – start exercising and working on your health today.