{"id":540,"date":"2021-01-29T10:35:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T10:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.protectline.co.uk\/blog\/?p=540"},"modified":"2021-02-15T14:19:57","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T14:19:57","slug":"smokers-57-percent-more-likely-cancel-life-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.protectline.co.uk\/blog\/smokers-57-percent-more-likely-cancel-life-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"Smokers Are 57% More Likely To Cancel Their Life Insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shocking stats show that smokers are 57% more likely to cancel their life insurance policy than non-smokers<\/span><\/span>. These figures released by Protect Line are from a dataset covering the whole of 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

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“This shocking revelation<\/strong> causes us real concerns”<\/strong>\u00a0says co-founder and director David Brewer. “We are a business that is passionate about helping customers through difficult times. We are investing in understanding why we are seeing this behaviour from consumers.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Life insurance premiums <\/span>are based<\/span><\/span> on your age, health, lifestyle and smoking status. Mr Brewer said, “Smoker’s <\/span>premiums are often twice those of non-smokers<\/span>. <\/span>Our service helps to find the most competitive price available for our customers but <\/span><\/span>ultimately<\/span><\/span> all insurers treat smokers in a similar way<\/span><\/span>.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“The pay-out rate of life insurance claims is <\/span>extremely<\/span><\/span> good. <\/span>The main reason for claims not <\/span><\/span>being paid<\/span><\/span>-out is due to non-disclosure (where information given to an insurer is incorrect or missing)<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>We have always <\/span><\/span>carefully<\/span><\/span> explained this to our customers as we want their families to get the money paid out from their policy<\/span><\/span>.” <\/span>The latest figures from the Association of British Insurers confirm Mr Brewer’s thoughts, as their latest figures show that <\/span><\/span>98.3% of protection claims were paid out in 2019<\/span><\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mr Brewer continues, “The issue is that many insurers treat vape and e-cigarette users the same as those who smoke cigarettes or tobacco<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>People who have switched to vaping see it as a healthier choice and do not expect to see the same price increase as a smoker would – it can seem unfair and unjust to those <\/span><\/span>actively<\/span><\/span> trying to improve their health and lifestyle<\/span><\/span>.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Out of the 13 insurers on Protect Line’s insurer panel, the majority ask questions like this on their applications: <\/span>Have you smoked or used any nicotine replacement products in the last 12 months<\/strong><\/span>?<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Some insurers go further and ask about smoking within the last 5 years; even smoking one cigarette during this period can result in an increase in price<\/span><\/span>. It’s not <\/span>just<\/span><\/span> current smokers that get a higher price, but recent smokers too. <\/span>A recent report by\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Action on Smoking and Health<\/span><\/a> found that there were an estimated 3.6 million people vaping in Great Britain in 2019 compared to 7.2 million smokers in the UK in 2018<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Could the increased price for vape and e-cigarette users be contributing to the larger cancellation rate for smokers<\/span><\/span>? If this is true, are these people then taking out new insurance policies? If so, are they still disclosing their vaping to the new insurance provider? Or are they forgoing life insurance all together?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“We hope that anyone who has to cancel their policy gets covered again before it <\/span>is needed<\/span><\/span>. We know how much of a difference life insurance pay-outs make to grieving families. <\/span>This is the reason we are passionate about helping customers to ensure they disclose all the relevant facts in their application<\/span><\/span>.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It is clear from the data produced by Protect Line that smokers are far more likely to cancel their life insurance<\/span><\/span>. It is still unclear why this is or if these people are restarting their cover again at a later date.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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