Does my job affect my life Insurance?

Life Insurance companies are in the business of making profits from the policies that they sell. This means that for each policy they issue they expect to receive more premiums than they agree to pay out. If they didn’t do this they would go out of business. Does my job affect my life Insurance? Read below to find out.

This means that they have to judge and assess your; evaluating how much risk there is of you dying an unnatural or early death. The greater risk of you dying an early death, then the higher the premium.

This risk is based on a set of industry wide statistics used by most life insurance companies. These statistics cover everything from what impact living in an urban area has on your expected life span, to what job you do for a living. Some of the resultant premium increases may seem a little strange, one is the effect of your job.

High Risk Jobs

If you are considered to have a high risk job then your life insurance premium is going to be higher, as the chance of you dying on the job is perceived to be higher. These jobs include, but are not limited to:

• working on oil platforms,
• working at heights,
• being in military service,
• being a fisherman or pilot.

Insurance industry data suggests that these professions are more likely to cause injury or death, than being, say an accountant. (Although technically speaking, more people die yearly of heart attacks in offices than people do on oil rigs).

So what can you do if you are considered to have a high risk job?

The obvious option is to move out of the industry and get a less riskier job, but that option doesn’t appeal to everyone and is sometimes unavailable. The other option is to shop around, although there are industry wide statistics and measures available for every job available, the amount of premium charged per job can vary greatly from one insurance company to the next.

Your other option is to look for a specialist. As there are a plethora of high risk industries about today, there are a plethora of life Insurance companies who specialize in catering for employees of these industries. These companies can offer preferential rates, that are lower than those available from your regular life insurance broker. Finding one of these can be as simple as asking at your workplace, or may involve you contacting an insurance agent and asking for their assistance to find you the most economical policy for your job.

To sum up, in today’s world of tighter safety control, better work environments and safer working practises; having a job in a place like an oil refinery shouldn’t make the chances of you dying at work any greater than that of an average person crossing a busy street. Unfortunately they do, in the eyes of Insurers. And these insurers are in charge of how much premium you have to pay, so when faced with the need to have your life insured against what appears the prohibitive cost of doing so, you are best advised to find an insurance broker and let them arrange your life insurance for you.