WOMEN ALMOST TWICE AS LIKELY TO PUT UP WITH A PARTNER WHO SMOKES WHEN THEY DON’T
If you’re struggling to convince your partner to quit smoking, you’re not alone. Despite health concerns related to smoking and second-hand smoke inhalation, new data from Quotezone.co.uk shows that 16% of couples in the UK currently include a partner who smokes and a partner who doesn’t.
The data, based on a sample of over 1000 joint life insurance policies, also shows that women who are non-smokers are almost twice as likely to put up with a partner who smokes, compared to men who are non-smokers.
Smoking can have a significant impact on your relationship – driving tensions between a couple due to the different styles of living, cost of cigarettes, smell, and potential health ramifications. Research from across the insurance industry, spanning 2019 to 2020, shows insurance premiums for smokers are at least a third more expensive than non-smokers – continuing to steadily increase with age.
Quotezone.co.uk’s research also revealed that the average increase in premiums for a joint decreasing life insurance policy, when one partner smoked and the other didn’t, was 33% – making the cost of smoking even higher.
Greg Wilson, Founder of insurance comparison website Quotezone.co.uk, comments: “Our research shows that nearly a fifth of people are in a mixed smoking/non-smoking relationship, which seems fairly high given the fact that the proportion of people who smoke in the UK has fallen by almost a quarter since 2011.
“When we analysed our life insurance data, we were expecting to see a higher proportion of men who smoke compared to women. The reality is that men are twice as likely to smoke than women when their partner doesn’t. Aside from health issues, even just one cigarette a day has the potential to affect your life insurance policy and drive-up premiums – negatively impacting on a couple’s finances. Especially if a couple are looking to buy their first house together, many lenders will insist on a life insurance policy to protect their mortgage.
“It is also important to remember that insurance providers don’t differentiate between the various types of cigarettes, vapes and e-cigarettes – so you must make sure to answer all questions accurately and honestly. If you ever need to make a claim, the insurance provider will investigate and if you’re found to have misled them, you may not be covered.”
The NHS has created a self-help list to help people stop smoking, with 10 top tips; think positive, make a plan to quit smoking, consider your diet, change your drink, identify when you crave cigarettes, get some stop smoking support, get moving, make non-smoking friends, keep your hands and mouth busy and make a list of reasons to quit.
Life insurance can be set up to pay off the remainder of the mortgage payments after the policyholder dies, or it can cover the main wage earner’s salary or look after childcare costs.
Quotezone.co.uk is one of the leading insurance comparison websites in the UK, helping over 3 million users find a more competitive deal on their insurance. People across the UK can use the site to get specialist quotes for everything from life insurance to health insurance to mortgage protection insurance.