Would You Believe It By Michael Challiner At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Filling in a life insurance application form is a bit like taking an exam, there will be an amazing number of questions to be answered, but like an exam, it should be treated seriously. When the insurers are asking for details of your health and lifestyle, most will take you at your word, and the chances are that any little white lies will come to light later.

Maybe you’re a reformed smoker? If you've been battling with giving up the weed for some time and are virtually nicotine free, you may have decided that the new healthier you needs to assess your life insurance plans. Maybe this is the final push to ensure that you stick to your resolution. Be careful, though. The question applies to the last twelve months, in all probability and also if the insurers find the statement to be untrue, you risk the refusal of your claim. This could be an unwelcome shock to any would-be beneficiaries.

How do they know you are not being completely truthful? There are some urine tests that have been developed to catch out people who lie to get cheaper insurance. They’re not expensive and are quick and convenient. So your insurance company can now check up on you if they suspect there's something amiss.

So it's much better to be truthful. This means that if do in fact smoke, you could have to fork out up to twice the premium for life insurance. It's an unfortunate fact that smokers face a very much higher chance of ill health and even premature death.

Prior to this new and simple test, there was one already available which measured the level of cotine - a by product of nicotine. This was expensive and the results could take weeks to arrive. The new test is immediate and the urine is tested and remains clear for non-smokers, red for heavier smokers and various shades of pink for the "almost given up but can't quite manage it" people. It's thought that if a medical is requested by the insurance company, they may request that one of these tests is administered as part of it.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said:"People do pay more for their life insurance if they smoke and they're usually asked whether they have had a cigarette in the last 12 months. By and large insurance companies have been taking people at their word by this test could come in useful if a company has reason to doubt the declaration made by a customer."

This means that if insurers check the applicant's health with their GP, who says they are a heavy smoker - despite the application form claiming non-smoker status, they could then check with the GP to see if circumstances have changed and ask if the test could be used to ascertain the actual facts.

One of the chief underwriters at a major insurance company said they welcomed the ease and low cost of the new test. He thought that they would be most likely to be used when a medical examination had been requested and didn't expect that everyone who claimed to be a non-smoker to be tested.

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