Impact of Drinking Alcohol on Health Insurance Premiums

Is Health Insurance Offered to People Drinking Alcohol?

Yes. People can buy a health insurance policy even if they consume alcohol regularly. As opposed to popular beliefs, insurance companies in India offer health insurance to people who drink alcohol. They do not reject your proposal application just because you consume alcohol. However, they may ask you to undergo a test to check whether you are a heavy drinker.

When it comes to claims, health insurance companies cannot reject your claim even if you had consumed alcohol moderately before getting hospitalized. However, if you are addicted to alcohol or are a heavy drinker, then any claim raised for an illness or injuries arising out of alcohol consumption will not be covered under your policy. This is a common health insurance alcohol exclusion.

How Does Drinking Alcohol Impact Your Health Insurance Premiums?

Although drinking alcohol does not stop you from buying a health insurance policy, it does impact your premium adversely. Your health insurance premiums will increase if you consume alcohol. This is because regular alcohol consumption, especially in large quantities, increases the risk of several diseases, such as liver failure, high blood pressure, stroke, breast & oral cancer, pancreatitis, etc. Moreover, alcohol consumption is also known to cause memory loss, damage mental health and reduce fertility.

On the other hand, health insurance companies reward policyholders for good lifestyle habits. They seek lesser premiums from people who are healthy and lead a healthy lifestyle. Since alcohol consumption leads to severe health problems and increases the liability of the insurance company, they charge you a higher premium. Doing so also motivates people to leave unhealthy habits and live healthy life.

How to Reduce Your Health Insurance Premiums?

If you consume alcohol, you will be required to pay a higher health insurance premium. But there are other ways through which you can reduce the cost of your health insurance policy. Take a look at them below:

1. Buy Health Insurance at an Early Age

If you want to reduce your health insurance premium, you must buy a health insurance policy at an early age. By doing so, you will be able to keep your premiums low even though you consume alcohol. This happens because you have lower chances of suffering from a disease or medical condition in your younger days and thus, you will be charged a lower premium.

2. Go for Family Floater Plans

If you want to buy health insurance for your family, you can go for a family floater policy instead of an individual policy for each family member. This will help you in lowering your health insurance costs as family floater plans are more affordable than individual plans. Thus, alcohol consumers will have to pay a lower premium for a family health insurance plan.

3. Opt for Higher Voluntary Deductibles

Another way to reduce your health insurance premium even though you drink alcohol is by opting for higher voluntary deductibles. When you opt for deductibles, you are required to pay a part of the claim amount during claim settlement. This reduces the liability of the insurance company and hence, they offer a lower premium.

The higher is the voluntary deductible, the lower will be the premium. Just make sure to go for a voluntary deductible that you can afford to pay at the time of claim settlement.

4. Avoid Unnecessary Add-ons

If you consume alcohol and want to keep your health insurance premium low, you must avoid adding unnecessary add-ons to your policy. This is because add-on covers are available for an extra premium price and so opting for add-ons that you don’t need will only increase your premium. Therefore, opt only for those add-on covers that you really need under your health insurance policy.

5. Compare Health Insurance Plans

One of the best ways to buy health insurance at a lower premium is by comparing various health plans online. When you will compare health insurance plans for alcohol consumers, you will be able to find the policy which offers the required coverage at an affordable cost. You can easily compare different health insurance plans online on Policybazaar.com based on their coverage, premium, benefits, etc.

Summing It Up

People who consume alcohol attract a higher health insurance premium as they pose a higher liability to the insurance company. But if you want to save on your premiums as much as possible, make sure to follow the above-mentioned tips to reduce your health insurance costs.

Health insurance companies

View more insurers

Disclaimer: The list mentioned is according to the alphabetical order of the insurance companies. Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by any insurer. For complete list of insurers in India refer to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India website www.irdai.gov.in

❮ ❯

Health insurance Articles

Recent Article
Popular Articles

03 Dec 2024

Health Insurance Checklist

Health insurance is a crucial investment you can make to secure

26 Sep 2024

Can You Get Maternity Insurance If Already...

Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful phases of a woman’s life

12 Aug 2024

Moratorium Period in Health Insurance

Getting a health insurance claim accepted for pre-existing

30 Jul 2024

Is Dengue Covered by SBI Health Insurance?

Dengue, a common vector-borne disease, causes high fever, severe

30 Jul 2024

Is Dengue Covered by Reliance Health Insurance?

Dengue fever can negatively impact you physically and financially

*We will respond in the first instance within 30 minutes of the customers contacting us. 30-minute claim support service is for the purpose of giving reasonable assistance to the policyholder in pursuance of the claim. Settlement of claim (including cashless claim) is the responsibility of the insurer as per policy terms and conditions. The 30- minute claim support is subject to our operations not being impacted by a system failure or force majeure event or for reasons beyond our control. For further details, 24x7 Claims Support Helpline can be reached out at 1800-258-5881.

*Product information is authentic and solely based on the information received from the Insurer. Policybazaar is acting only as a facilitator and claims settlement shall be at the sole discretion of the Insurer. Policybazaar does not provide any medical or surgical advice or diagnosis and is not responsible for your interactions / treatment by a medical practitioner/hospital. Please consult a registered medical practitioner for any medical or surgical advice. The Information that you obtain or receive from Policybazaar, and its employees, or otherwise on the Website is for informational purposes only. As per the Insurance guidelines, you are allowed to cancel the policy with-in 30 days from the date of Issuance of policy.This option is available incase of policies with a term of one year or more.

*All the health insurance plans cover hospitalization expenses including COVID-19 treatment cover up to the specified limits. You can also buy specific COVID-19 health insurance policies such as Corona Kavach Policy and Corona Rakshak policy.

**All savings and online discounts are provided by insurers as per IRDAI approved insurance plans. #Tax Benefits are subject to changes in tax laws. GST Exemptions depend on fulfilment of qualification criteria and submission of relevant documents.

*₹1748/month is the starting price for a 1 crore health insurance for an 18-year-old male, with no pre-existing diseases. Discount on renewal premium is subject to the number of wellness points earned in the health insurance policy. For more details about the plans, please read the sale brochure carefully to get upto 100% discount on renewal premium.

*₹400/month is the starting price for ₹ 5 lakh Health insurance for a 30 year old male & 29 years old female, living in Delhi with no pre-existing diseases

*₹541/month is the starting price for ₹ 10 lakh Health insurance for a 30 year old male & 29 years old female, living in Delhi with no pre-existing diseases

*₹762/month is the starting price for ₹ 1 Crore Health insurance for a 30 year old male & 29 years old female, living in Delhi with no pre-existing diseases

*₹243/month(₹ 8/day) is the starting price for a 5 lakh health insurance for a 20-year-old male, non-smoker, living in Bengaluru with no pre-existing diseases

*₹2020/month is the starting price for ₹ 1 Cr Health insurance for a 50 year old male & 50 years old female, living in Bangalore with no pre-existing diseases rounded off to nearest 10.

*₹390/month (₹13 per day) is starting price for 1 cr. Health insurance for 25 years old male, with pre-existing diseases, residing from tier 1 city rounded off to the nearest 10.

*No medical tests are required unless requested by the insurer’s underwriter. In-case of pre-existing diseases relevant medical proof would be required as per the terms and condition of the policy opted.

*The values taken for effective cost calculation are indicative values and may change as per the selected plan.

*Coverage upto double the amount of Sum Insured is available on certain covers for a minimum plan of Rs. 5 Lakh on the first claim only to an individual of upto 45 years of age with no pre-existing diseases. The benefit is available with or without extra cost depending on the plan chosen.

*Coverage of pre-existing diseases is provided by insurer as per their underwriting policy.

*The scope of coverage may vary from plan to plan.

~Source: Google Review Rating available on:- http://bit.ly/3J20bXZ

##On ground claim assistance is available in 114 cities

Tax Benefits are subject to changes in tax laws. GST Exemption depends on fulfilment of qualification criteria and submission of relevant documents as required by the insurers. For more details on risk factors, terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure and applicable rules and regulation carefully before concluding a sale.

STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY. For more details on risk factors, terms and conditions, please read the sales brochure carefully before concluding a sale.

Policybazaar is a registered Composite Broker |Registration No. 742, Valid till 09/06/2024, License category- Composite Broker| Visitors are hereby informed that their information submitted on the website may be shared with insurers.

Policybazaar Insurance Brokers Private Limited | CIN: U74999HR2014PTC053454 | Registered Office - Plot No.119, Sector - 44, Gurgaon, Haryana - 122001 Contact Us | Legal and Admin Policies