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Come 31st May, and you would witness various ad campaigns and posters spread awareness about the tobacco-related health hazards. 31ST May is globally celebrated as the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) when the ill-effects of tobacco consumption by smokers and maintain the health of lungs are stressed upon. The objective is to urge smokers from tobacco usage for 24 hours to honour this day.
Smoking and health insurance do not go hand in hand. Furthermore, the biggest myth prevailing among personal finance is that smokers can’t get health insurance. However, this is not true. Contrary to popular belief, health insurance companies do provide health coverage to smokers, albeit different T&Cs as compared to non-smokers. In fact, every smoker ought to have a term insurance plan, as the likelihood of a smoker passing away earlier is slightly higher than non-smokers.
But, what is term insurance plan?
It is a type of life insurance plan that offers coverage for a specified term of years or period. Under a term insurance policy, if the insurer passes away during the period mentioned in the policy, a death benefit is paid to the beneficiary specified in the policy, provided that the policy is active.
Here are a few things you should know before you decide to buy term insurance for a smoker:
- Minimum term
The minimum tenure for a smoker’s term insurance policy is of 5 – 10 years. - Maximum term
A smoker’s maximum term insurance policy could span a maximum of anywhere between 30-40 years. - Minimum age
The minimum age to purchase term insurance for a smoker is 18 years. - Maximum age
The maximum age until which a smoker could get coverage is up to 75 years. - Sum assured
The minimum sum assured on a smoker’s plan is at least Rs3 lakh. The maximum amount can span up to any amount the insured requests. - Premium payments
The premiums for a smoker’s term insurance policy ought to be paid annually. - Eligibility
Such term insurance plans are only valid for insurers who are Indian citizens residing within the country. - Maturity of the plan
In the case where the insured outlives the maturity of the policy, the insurer does not receive any benefits for the same
Your tobacco consumption impacts both health insurance and life insurance policies. If you are a regular at consuming tobacco, the premiums paid under both these policies tend to increase. So, giving up on tobacco also aids in improving your insurability and of course helps you in saving money on the premium outgoes. Tobacco usage is one of the factors that affect the pricing of term insurance in India
With so many benefits of a tobacco-free life, don’t you think giving up tobacco works in your and your family’s best interests?
So, this World No Tobacco Day, pledge to give up smoking. Though the process will be slow, at least it would be a start. Remind yourself of all the gains of living a tobacco-free life and any temptations that you might face would slowly melt away. So, choose a tobacco-free life and do yourself and your family a huge favour. So if you don’t want to end up paying hefty premiums, Anti-Tobacco Day is the best time to give up on this deadly habit of smoking. Also, you can consider using a term insurance premium calculator to deduce the premiums paid by you in the entire tenure so that you can easily manage your finances.
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