If Youre Not Vegetarian Dont Apply For This Life Insurance
Summary
An interesting new insurance policy has been introduced by Animal Friends Insurance. The insurance plan offers cheap premiums to vegetarians, based on evidence that they are at a reduced risk than their carnivorous counterparts of developing certain illnesses. It remains to be seen whether other insurers will follow the example set by AFI .
A no-profit insurance business has introducd a scheme which offers vegetarians and egg eaters a reduced premium life cover .
The offer, considered to be the 1st of its type, is being marketed by Animal Friends Insurance (AFI). The firm is offering non-meat eaters a 7% reduction in priceon life insurance premiums
The company claimed that veggies ought to pay less for the cover, which pays out if the person dies, because they were less likely to suffer from a range of chronic diseases, including cancers.
Susan Gaddet, AFI’s managing director, claims that the danger of veggies being diagnosed with certain cancers is reduced by up to 40 per cent and the danger of them suffering from heart disease is cut by up to thirty per cent, but despite this they have, until now, had to pay broadly the same life insurance premiums as customers who eat meat.
She says that Animal Friends Insurance believe that this is unfair and says the insurers should acknowledge the idea that being a vegetarian can impose a very positive impact on life expectancy and cut its charges accordingly.
A full-price policy is also on the market for meat eaters. Both plans are sold by LV=, which was known as Liverpool Victoria.
In common with normal life policies, a range of aspect contribute to the cost of the premiums including whether the applicant smokes, their weight, age and sex.
At the moment, AFI is funding the 7% price reduction itself from the cash it receives from LV=. In the future, however, the firm’s objective was to offer lower costs on specialist cover. In making the discount the organisation is hoping to sign up enough vegetarians to make it cost effective for LV= to underwrite another insurance policy that takes the vegetarian’s diet into account.
Indeed there are welcome savings to be had, a 38 year oldnon-smoker wanting £300,000 worth of life cover might potentially save £393.60 over a 20-year term.
Where critical illness insurance is concerned, AFI thinks that insurers should try to treat those that eat meat and non-meat eaters in approaches matching the way they assess smokers and non-smokers. We hope that that other companies in the insurance industry will do the same.
It is thought that some senior managersin the insurance industry are doubtful whether there is any proof that vegetarians live longer, and how any insurance company would know that applicants who had certified that they are veggies did not munch on an occasional bacon sandwich.
When it comes to smoking, the insurance company can refer to your GP’s patient records - if you do smoke it’s certainly likely that your GP will know. However, this is unlikely to apply when it comes to eating meat, an insurance executive observed.
But some veggies contend that they are not concerned about people falling off the vegetarian wagon and suggested that once a vegetarian has become a veggie, they don’t go back to meat-eating, that’s unlike applicants who smoke who tend to drift in and out of their habit.
