You have undoubtedly heard of the many dangers smoking poses to your health, but have you considered the damage smoking can do to your home?
We’ll share how smoking affects where you live, from lowering your home’s resale value to increasing your monthly home insurance premiums. If you quit smoking, you will likely see a reduction in home insurance rates, but we’ll share even more ways to find home insurance quotes that help you save.
Way #1 – Smoking Increases Your Insurance Premiums
Insurance rates are based on the amount of risk the insurer has to assume when underwriting a policy. The higher the chance that you’ll file a claim, the higher the premiums you’ll have to pay. The most significant additional risk associated with smoking in your home is house fires.
If you fall asleep while smoking or leave a smoldering cigarette butt unattended, you could start a fire that could significantly damage or destroy your home.
How Much Does Smoking Increase Premiums
Smokers who purchase life insurance are usually placed in a high-risk life insurance category. Smokers could pay twice as much as non-smokers for identical coverage and may not even qualify for coverage.
Smoking doesn’t impact home insurance rates as much as it affects life insurance, but smokers can still expect to pay 20% more for home insurance coverage than non-smokers.
Saving Money on Home Insurance Premiums
If you quit smoking, you reduce your risk to an insurance provider. As a result, you’ll likely be rewarded with lower premiums.
You can also save on home insurance by bundling it with your auto insurance policy. In addition to a bundling discount, you may be eligible for several other discounts, including the following:
- Claims-free discount
- Home upgrade discount
- Military discount
- Paperless billing discount
- Safety and security discount
If you increase your deductible, you’ll pay less for premiums, but you must be prepared to pay your deductible if you file a claim.
You can also opt for a lower level of coverage, but that requires you to assume more of the risk of loss for your home, which isn’t advisable in most cases.
Way #2 – Nicotine Discolors Your Walls
Because nicotine discolors your walls slowly, you might not even realize how yellow everything becomes until you move a picture on the wall and see the original protected wall color. This toxic substance is unsightly and challenging to remove.
The toxins that stain your wall also contribute to third-hand smoke, a significant health risk for you and others living in or visiting your home.
Way #3 – Cigarette Smoke Injures Houseplants
Healthy plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. The gases in cigarette smoke prohibit efficient plant processes, and houseplants experience a significant reduction in how much carbon dioxide they can take in.
The toxic gases and ash also slow photosynthesis. As a result, your Monstera Dubia and other house plants may experience stunted growth, and many cannot survive.
Way #4 – Smoking Deters Friends From Visiting
Non-smokers tend to avoid smoker-friendly places. They don’t appreciate the smell or feel of being in smoke-filled areas. If your friends don’t smoke, they’ll probably prefer spending time with you outdoors, and you’ll miss the opportunity to host gatherings.
People who don’t smoke choose to abstain and don’t often want to face the health risks of visiting a smoker’s home, especially if they have risk factors like respiratory ailments.
Way #5 – Cigarettes Increase Your Home Fire Risk
The increased fire risk is why home insurance rates are higher for smokers than non-smokers.
Smoking is consistently the leading factor in home fires. It makes sense when you consider the risk of embers or ash falling from a cigarette, an unextinguished butt smoldering in a trash can, or a dropped lit cigarette landing on a pile of papers.
Way #6 – Smoking Reduces Your Home’s Value
You may not even notice any of the effects of smoking on your home. But the moment someone walks in for a home showing, they’ll know. Prospective buyers will see the yellowed walls and ceiling, feel the nicotine on the carpet, and smell the smoke.
While it’s not impossible to remove the effects of smoking and substantially decrease the associated third-hand smoking risks, the process costs a lot of money and is not always successful.
Prospective buyers usually decide that a cigarette smoke-damaged home isn’t worth their time.
The health risks of smoking are bad enough, but when you consider the additional ways smoking harms your home, you should consider speaking with your healthcare provider for help on your journey to quit smoking. At the very least, you can consider blending your indoor and outdoor spaces and making a space to smoke outside exclusively.
Melanie Musson writes and researches for the insurance comparison site, ExpertInsuranceReviews.com. She’s passionate about helping others understand their home insurance needs and ways they can reduce their risk and save money on their premiums.
Last Updated on November 6, 2023 by admin
