How Euthanasia, Vaping and Your BMI Play a Role in Health Insurance
The 3 Questions I Have Are:
Euthanasia and how it affects your Life insurance?
I was a smoker, but now I vape, am I considered a Smoker or Non-Smoker?
Who is the insurance company that doesn’t ask for Height or Weight?
Euthanasia
In New Zealand, we have this now. As Kiwis, if we are considering this as an option then the End of Life Choice Act 2019 provides the framework for people who are considering their options.
The Act has protections and rules throughout, the one I am interested in is the excerpt below
Excerpt from the Act: A person who dies as a result of assisted dying is, for the purposes of any life insurance contract, or any other contract, — (a)taken to have died as if assisted dying had not been provided.
Most Life insurance contracts in current times have a Terminal Illness benefit built into the policy. This usually states if the insured has been diagnosed with less than 12 months to live then the contract pays out in full.
To qualify for Euthanasia one of the criteria is a diagnosis of less than 6 months to live. If you have had your insurance for a while check your policy or contact your insurance adviser to enquire about what Terminal Illness benefit you have within your cover.
Smoker/Vaper
When completing an application for insurance you are asked, do you smoke? If the answer is yes, as a general rule your premiums will be double what a non-smoker pays.
This question has now been expanded to ask if you Vape, and even further if you have Tobacco in your Vape. If the answer is yes then you are also on Smoker rates, if the answer is no Tobacco then there are some insurers who consider you a non-smoker and some a smoker.
Should you cease smoking/vaping for a period of 12 months you can class yourself as a non-smoker in insurance terms. At this point, you need to contact your Insurance Adviser to let them know the good news. Then a form is completed and submitted to the insurer. Your premiums should then be dropped back to non-smoker rates.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
No questions about Height or Weight in an insurance application – BMI has long been considered a tool that insurance providers use as an assessment of your increased chances to claim.
The larger the BMI the larger the increase on the premiums may be.
For a Health insurance provider to not ask a question about Height and Weight would be ludicrous right?
To the best of our knowledge the only insurance provider who does not ask this question is Southern Cross.
Southern Cross as New Zealand’s largest Health Insurance provider does not use BMI as a tool to assess a client’s riskiness. This is a great port of call for those of us who have a high BMI.
Money Saving Tips!
If you are a current non-smoker but were a smoker when you signed up for your cover, check your policy to make sure the non-smoker change has occurred!
If you Vape with no Tobacco contact an insurance adviser to help align you with a company that will consider you a non-smoker.
If you have a high BMI and are in the market for Health insurance check out Southern Cross.
If you are with a provider other than Southern Cross and your BMI has lowered over time you may be eligible for a decrease in premiums.
Jonathan Whorwood
Financial Adviser
The Insurance Supply Co Limited
Insurancesupply.co.nz