Lifestyle and Life Insurance—How
Does Your Lifestyle Affect Your Life Insurance
Premium? |
You don’t
smoke, don’t drink, keep regular
hours, and exercise everyday. But you
could still end up paying a higher insurance
premium if you travel by air, indulge
in adventure sports, suffer from depression,
or have collected several speeding tickets
in the last five years. If you lie about
your mental health, your hobbies, your
habitual travel programs, or your driving
record, on the life insurance application,
and you die in a plane crash, while climbing
Mount Everest, or while speeding down
a national highway, the life insurance
company will not pay out your policy to
your family. |
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How does your
lifestyle affect your life insurance premium?
Life insurance companies routinely divide
their clients into smokers and non-smokers.
Both groups are then classified on their
health as Preferred Plus, Standard, and
Preferred. Life insurance companies give
extremely low classifications to people
who face a risk of early death. |
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Life insurance
companies also study your mental health
records before they sell you a policy.
They tend to avoid people who suffer from
depression, because depressed people tend
to commit suicide. Life insurance companies
make payments two years after a policyholder
commits suicide. However, not all mental
health cases are suicidal—some can
be cured with medication and psychiatric
care. |
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Before you
apply for a life insurance policy, you
should take a careful look at your driving
record, because the life insurance company
will certainly do so. Are you a careful
driver or do you tend to drive fast and
take risks? If you are the latter kind,
then both your life insurance and automobile
insurance premiums could go through the
roof. |
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Another group
of people who are given a high risk categorization
by life insurance companies are those
who are habitual air travelers or those
who indulge in adventure sports. Air travelers
risk air crashes, hijackings, and terrorist
attacks every time they travel. And adventure
sportspersons risk not just breaking a
limb or two each time they go out scuba
diving, bungee jumping, mountain climbing,
bike racing, or helicopter skiing, they
could end up losing their lives. |
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So
when you fill out your life insurance
application form, be honest about all
your health problems, driving record,
fondness for adventure sports, and air
traveling. You should also look for a
life insurance policy that covers all
the eventualities mentioned—mental
health problems, a poor driving record,
and a fondness for adventure sports! |
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