Health insurance premiums are affected by more than just your age and medical history; they are also affected by how you live day to day. Insurers are increasingly considering lifestyle factors, including how you maintain your activity levels, your habits, and your stress management.
Gold Rate
08 Aug 2025
However, a few small, sustainable changes can tilt the scales in your favour. In this guide, we will review seven pragmatic adjustments that can not only benefit your health but will also help you pay lower premiums for your insurance over time.
7 Smart Habits That Can Lower Your Health Insurance Premium
Choosing the right health insurance plan is the first step to saving money on premiums. Simple habits and healthy choices can minimise costs without sacrificing coverage. Following the 7 ideas below will help you cut your health insurance costs while you remain fully covered:
1. Quit Smoking and Tobacco
- Smoking and tobacco use are major risk factors for several chronic illnesses, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory conditions.
- Insurance premiums for smokers or tobacco users are generally much higher due to the increased risk of claims.
- Quitting smoking can quickly lower your risk profile, sometimes making you eligible for reduced premiums after a set period of cessation.
- Insurers may request medical tests to confirm status, and tobacco-free declarations can help avoid exclusions or extra loading.
- In addition to savings on insurance premiums, quitting tobacco prolongs life and improves quality of life.
2. Embrace a Healthy Diet
- A healthier diet, with more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, is associated with a lower risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
- Good nutrition supports a healthy weight, healthy cholesterol levels, and a healthy immune system, all positive factors for favourable underwriting.
- Insurance companies regularly review blood test results and chronic disease history; a healthier eater will have decreased records of chronic health issues and infrequent claims.
- Some policies also add wellness incentives for improved health and/or dietary changes.
- If you’re seeking long-term coverage, such as health insurance for family, maintaining good eating habits across the household will lead to fewer medical issues and better policy terms.
3. Maintain Regular Physical Activity
- Engaging in physical activity, such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling, or group sports, enhances cardiovascular function, helps manage weight, and reduces chronic disease risk.
- Regular exercise improves blood pressure, blood sugar control, and mental well-being, making you a lower-risk insurance applicant.
- Insurers may reward physical activity through lower premiums, wellness programs, or fitness-linked benefits.
- Individuals with active lifestyles typically have more favourable health check reports during underwriting.
- Sustained exercise habits can help prevent lifestyle-related conditions and health complications.
4. Moderate Alcohol Consumption
- Excessive alcohol intake raises one’s risk for liver disease, hypertension, accidents, and certain cancers, all of which can increase premium costs.
- Moderating or abstaining from alcohol helps maintain better organ function and reduces the likelihood of medical claims.
- Moderate or abstaining from alcohol allows the individual to have better organ function and be less likely to generate medical claims.
- During the application and underwriting process, heavy drinking is identified as a risk that can increase rates or restrictions.
- Typical results in blood and medical tests of liver health and lifestyle can be rates.
5. Manage and Reduce Stress
- Chronic stress can exacerbate health problems or potentially cause new stress-related diseases such as heart issues, digestive issues, or mental health issues.
- Practices like yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques are excellent ways to reduce stress and may significantly impact physical and mental health by reducing stress hormone levels.
- Insurance companies are gradually realising and starting to include mental health and preventive health in their wellness plans, which include reimbursement or incentives for documentation of stress reduction.
- Reduced stress means fewer trips to the doctor, fewer serious claims, and less frequent visits.
- Managing stress may help improve your productivity, sleep, and general happiness in daily life.
6. Reach and Maintain a Healthy Weight
- Achieving and maintaining a healthy BMI reduces the risk of complications such as type 2 diabetes, joint issues, and cardiovascular disease.
- Overweight people are generally rated as a higher risk and can be assigned premium loading or rigorous policy terms.
- Weight loss from a good diet and exercise causes changes to key health measures, which could improve insurance premiums and risk assessment.
- Applicants with good weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure measures are always better rated regarding health checks.
- Reasonable weight control means reduced medical costs over the long term and reduced claim frequency, which benefits both the client and insurer.
7. Get Regular Health Checkups and Preventive Care
- Routine health screenings enable early detection and management of potential issues, leading to fewer high-cost claims.
- Insurers increasingly encourage preventive care, sometimes offering discounts or reward points for regular medical checkups and vaccinations.
- Maintaining current medical records allows faster processing during claims. Go Digit, for instance, eases the claim handling process when your health history has been tracked.
- Preventive health measures mitigate the risk for an insurer.
- Regular checkups help manage emerging health risks proactively, supporting individual and financial wellness.
Reducing your health premium isn’t just about negotiating with your insurer; it begins with the decisions you make every day. Simple, yet effective lifestyle changes such as eating healthier, moving more, and controlling stress can create a win-win effect, because being healthier means lower costs.
With regards to these lifestyle changes, over time, these things can lead to lower healthcare premiums, fewer restrictions, and greater freedom of choice regarding your insurance. Healthy living is good for your body and your pocket!
