Veggies Given Life Insurance Leg Up

Summary
An interesting new product has been introduced by Animal Friends Insurance. The insurance plan offers discounted premiums to vegetarians, based on evidence that they are at a lesser risk than their meat-eating counterparts of developing certain medical conditions. It remains to be seen whether other insurers will follow the example set by AFI .

A not-for-profit insurance business has marketed an insurance policy which offers fish-eaters and vegetarians a reduced premium mortgage insurance .

The deal, thought to be the first of its kind, is being brought to the market by Animal Friends Insurance (AFI). The company is offering veggies a 6 per cent cheaper premiumon mortgage life insurance premiums
The organisation claimed that veggies ought to pay a lesser sum for the product, which pays out if the plan holder were to die, because they were more unlikely to suffer from a range of very serious illnesses, including some cancers.

Elaine Fair, the managing director of AFI, said that the risk of veggies being diagnosed with certain cancers is shrunk by up to forty 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 plan holders who eat meat.
She says that AFI believe this is unfair and says the insurers should recognise the concept that being a vegetarian can impose have a significant effect on life expectancy and reduce its charges accordingly.

A full-price arrangement is also on the market for meat eaters. Both insurance policies are underwritten by LV=, which prior, was known as Liverpool Victoria.

In common with standard life plans, a range of things contribute to the cost of the plans including whether the applicant smokes, their age, weight and sex.

At the moment, Animal Friends Insurance is funding the 6 per cent cheaper premium itself from the commission it receives from LV=. In the future, however, the firm’s objective was to offer lower premiums on specialist insurance cover. In making the offer the firm is hoping to sign up enough veggies to make it cost effective for LV= to underwrite another insurance plan that takes the veggie diet into account.

Indeed there are worthwhile savings to be made, a 42-year-oldnon-smoker buying £300,000 worth of cover might potentially save £393.60 over a 25-year term.

Where critical illness is concerned, AFI believes that life insurers should start to treat those that like meat and those that do not eat meat in a way that is similar to the way they approach non-smokers and smokers. We hope that that other companies in the insurance industry will do the same.

It is thought that some executivesin the insurance industry do not believe there is proof that veggies live longer, and how any insurance company could prove that those who had stated that they were vegetarian did not enjoy the occasional Big Mac.

When it comes to smoking, the insurance company can refer to your GP’s patient records - if you do smoke it’s probable that your GP would know. But this won’t apply when it comes to eating meat, an said a spokesperson from the insurance industry.

But some veggies contend that they are not concerned about people falling off the vegetarian ways and suggested that once a vegetarian has become a vegetarian, they don’t go back to meat-eating, that is unlike smokers who tend to drift out and back again into their habit.