Drinking alcohol is a part of our society and surprisingly can affect your term life insurance rates. Whether it is casual drinking, heavy drinking or alcohol abuse, alcohol manages to find a way into most people's lives at some point. While some prefer beer, others prefer wine and others prefer liquor. Term life insurance companies consider each type of alcohol the same. For purposes of term life quotes, the amount of alcohol you drink can affect your rates. Alcohol consumption can seem like a tricky and touchy subject. Tracking alcohol consumption can seem even trickier.

How do Term Life Insurance Companies Know Your Drink?

There are a few ways which insurance companies can tell if your drinking is something that should be factored into your term life insurance rates. The first way that the companies determine alcohol use is through the questionnaire during your application process. The questionnaire is typically given to prospective clients. The questionnaire asks multiple questions regarding many aspects of life. This includes, among other things, smoking, weight, and drinking. These questions serve as a basis for understanding the alcohol consumption of the applicant.

After the questionnaire, there are two other ways which a life insurance company can tell if you consume alcohol excessively and if this should affect your term life insurance quotes. One way companies do this is by looking at the applicant's driving record. If someone has information on their driving record that includes alcohol (such as a DUI) they would likely be considered a heavy drinker, and are putting themselves at risk. Most insurance companies see a history of driving while under the influence of alcohol as a red flag. Companies automatically assume that someone with this type of record heavily abuses alcohol to the point where it could become a liability to insure them.

After the driving record check performed by the term life insurance company, there is one final study that is completed to fully understand the use of alcohol by the client. The client must complete a medical exam before they can offer rates. The company is looking for specific red flags in the medical exam that can tip them off to unhealthy issues. Because alcohol can affect the body through the liver and other organs, it can be easily seen through a medical exam. This is why it is important to refrain from giving false information to the company through the questionnaire. If the company finds out that you've lied, they can take notice, and consider the life insurance contract to be fraud. This can ruin the entire process.

Why do They Care?

Life insurance companies take drinking into consideration for term life insurance quotes for a reason. The company wants their clients to live a long life. This benefits both parties monetarily, depending on the type of life insurance policy you own. If someone is harming their body or is unhealthy, their life expectancy is statistically shorter. This is why rates can go up. Someone who is drinking heavily is considered unhealthy, and therefore, adjustments are made to the rates to reflect the situation.

It Can Be Fixed

If you are a drinker, there is hope. Showing proof of the absence of alcohol in your life (through a renewed medical exam, and a renewed driving record check) can lead to lower term life insurance rates. Stopping alcohol abuse cannot only help your body, but can help your wallet with lower rates.