Leading a healthy lifestyle is its own reward, especially as it will increase your chances of living longer. However on top of that getting healthy could also help to reduce your health insurance costs – sometimes dramatically so.
When you take out a private health insurance plan, the premium that you pay is going to be affected by a lot of factors including your age, medical history, cover and so on. Aside from that however, your state of health and lifestyle also factor in as well – as they will have an impact on your risk.
Essentially if you are leading a healthy lifestyle, eating properly and exercising regularly it is less likely that you’ll develop many types of medical conditions. That in turn means that there is less risk for insurers, which is why they are able to offer lower premiums.
Ways to Start Leading a Healthy Lifestyle
Although any healthy life choices will be generally beneficial, there are some in particular that will help you to reduce your health insurance costs, such as:
#1. Exercising Regularly
Getting into shape is definitely both good for you, and weight (or BMI) is one of the factors that insurers often factor in when calculating their premiums. If you are overweight or ‘obese’ then it is likely your premiums will be that much higher. Some insurers even provide incentives in the form of premium reductions if you meet certain exercise goals.
#2. Quitting Smoking
According to GoCompare smokers pay about double the premiums of non-smokers. It is worth noting that insurers often look at any tobacco and nicotine consumption – including vaping or nicotine gum. While some insurers may reduce the premium slightly for smokers who switch to vaping or other alternatives, quitting altogether provides the biggest reduction.
Must Read: Best Quit Smoking Apps For Android
#3. Eating A Balanced Diet
On its own eating a balanced diet can help your health in numerous ways. While it may not directly affect your premiums, eating a balanced diet combined with regularly exercise will help you to stay in shape which is good for your premiums.
All of these things will help you to reduce your premiums – but the exact amount in which they do will vary based on your insurer. Different insurers will calculate the premiums differently, and some may have various other requirements as well.
Nowadays there are private health insurance plans that emphasize healthy lifestyles more and incentivize and reward accordingly. When you are looking for a plan it might be good to take this into account, particularly if you want to start embracing a healthier lifestyle and also reduce your premium.
On the whole you should be able to lead a happier and healthier life, while still ensuring you have the benefits that come with private health insurance – such as faster access to healthcare, alternative treatments, and so on. Arguably it is the best way to go about reducing your premiums, because it will help you to increase your quality of life at the same time.
