Pack it in and halve your life insurance premiums

With England's smoking ban coming into force on July 1, those thinking of packing it in could typically save £2,000 to £3,000 on their life insurance.

It's not only the health of smokers who puff their last cigarette at the end of June that will benefit, but also their cashflow. No more expensive cigarettes and, according to price comparison website moneysupermarket.com, life insurance premiums for non-smokers are about half the price of those for smokers.

For example, life insurance cover of £100,000 for a 35-year-old smoker over the next 25 years would cost £17.90 a month with Norwich Union. A non-smoking male would only pay £10 a month – a saving of almost 45 per cent or £2,370 over the term. As the table below shows, a non-smoker with LV= would pay £3,150 less than a smoker.

Emma Walker, head of life insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said: “The upcoming smoking ban has inspired 1.2 million smokers to say they intend to quit by July 1, so if you’re keen to give up, you should find plenty of support from others in the same position.

"The premium difference between a smoker and a non-smoker is vast and there are considerable savings to be made simply by shopping around for the cheapest deal to suit your circumstances.

“In order to be classed as a non-smoker and qualify for life-insurance premium savings, insurers insist on smokers having packed it in for a full year. Once smokers have given up for 12 months, they should go back to their insurer and ask for non-smoker rates, subject to tests to prove they have quit."