28 Jan 2026

The beginning of the New Year is a time when many people take the opportunity to commit to healthier habits. Deciding on a New Year’s resolution usually involves a pledge to a more disciplined exercise routine, giving up smoking or reducing alcohol consumption, or switching to a healthier diet. While there’s no doubt that these changes can have a positive impact on health, a question many people wonder is: does living a healthier lifestyle affect your insurance?

The answer is a little more complex than a simple yes or no.  Sometimes a healthier lifestyle can affect your insurance, and a good example is the United States, where lifestyle may not raise premiums directly, yet it could affect costs indirectly, as obesity or smoking-related illnesses could lead to higher medical bills.

When it comes to life insurance, lifestyle does directly affect coverage as insurers will assess things like whether or not a person smokes, their weight, exercise routines, and blood pressure and cholesterol levels. These considerations will likely affect applicants as well as the premiums they pay, whereby healthier applicants may receive lower premiums. Interestingly, improvements can, in some cases, let you reapply for better rates.

Ultimately, insurance is based on risk, in particular risk over time. Healthy habits that lead to lower risk of chronic disease or fewer hospital visits and prescriptions are things that insurers pay attention to. In essence, consistent healthy behaviours represent ‘less risk’ in the eyes of insurers.

Beyond insurance, a disciplined approach to healthy living can help improve the quality of life as well as overall happiness. Better wellbeing can result in improved mental health alongside the obvious financial benefits and possible insurance savings. For all those embarking on New Year’s resolutions, we wish you the very best of luck in your pursuit of being a healthier version of yourself.