press release

Quit now and save a fortune, advises online financial data provider Moneynet.co.uk

And while pavements outside bars and restaurants will be clogging up with nicotine addicts as quickly as a dedicated smoker’s arteries, research by Moneynet.co.uk shows that those who still puff away will save far more than just the cost of a packet of fags if they manage to stop.

There is a massive disparity in life cover premiums between smokers and non smokers, with older smokers in particular very badly hit (see table below).

“Smokers wanting life assurance will find they face more than double the premium of a non-smoker,” says Moneynet.co.uk chief executive Richard Brown.

“As our table shows, the 60-year-old male smoker wanting £100,000 worth of life cover over 20 years will be charged £191.30 with Norwich Union - getting on for £2,300 a year. Add to that the cost of a packet of 20 – around £5.50 – and that habit is costing around £4,300 a year – that’s £86,000 over a 20 year life cover period.

“The non smoking 60-year-old would pay less than half - £93.70 - and the additional £2,000 a year could go into a savings account earning 6 per cent, rather than going up in smoke,” adds Brown.

The differences in premiums for younger smokers are less marked, according to the Moneynet.co.uk research. But it is from the age of 50 and up that smokers become really penalised, he warns.

“Basically, the cost of premiums double when smoking is taken into account – and these will inevitably become more expensive as the policyholder gets older.”

“Many people are tempted to lie about their smoking habits when applying for life assurance, but this is a false economy.

“Should you become ill or die from a smoking related condition, your insurance won’t pay out, letting down you and the family dependant on you. Whichever way you look at it, it is a very expensive habit.”

* BBA/BSA data, June 2007