If you are a smoker, how does it affect your healthcare insurance premium? Where should you go to get the best rate?
By 2007, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland will all have bans on smoking in public places. There will be great differences among the four as to where smoking is permitted. This confusion extends into health care insurance, as insurers differ in how they view smoking.
Increasingly, there are questions relating to specific habits. It is becoming more common to be asked ; Are you a smoker, or have you smoked in the last 12 months. Insurers do differ. Some ask, some so not. Some will go into detail if answers to other questions suggest there are health problems that originate in smoking. Where insurers ask questions by phone, smoking habits can be investigated, even if not originally asked on the proposal form.
Insurers are increasingly concerned about smoking. The reason for that is that there is some evidence that heavy smokers need more medical help and take longer to recover.
On pricing, healthcare insurance providers differ. Some will not differentiate between smokers and non smokers. Those who do can either increase the price for smokers or reduce the price for non smokers. If insurers think smoking habits have or will soon cause health problems, they may refuse to accept the person. An alternative approach is seen from PruHealth who actively encourage smokers to give up .
Non-smokers should check if healthcare insurance companies offer you a better price than smokers. Smokers may want to select a health care insurance company that does not charge them extra. It will surely not be long before all insurers ask about smoking, and take it into account in pricing.
