7% of people admit to lying about their smoking and drinking habits in an effort to secure cheaper life or serious illness insurance, new research shows.
The survey carried out by iReach on behalf of Peopl Insurance reveals that men are more likely than women to underestimate their drinking and smoking so they can get a cheaper quote.
In terms of age groups, those between 45 and 54 are most likely to be dishonest about their habits.
Paul Walsh, CEO of Peopl Insurance warned against providing misleading information to insurance providers.
"Even if you manage to get cheaper life cover by failing to disclose or to be fully upfront about your smoking or drinking habits, doing so could see you or your family lose out on a claim down the line," he said.
"Providing inaccurate information when applying for life insurance can lead to the cancellation of your policy and the rejection of claims," he added.
Mr Walsh said an insurer can investigate any claim made, and if it discovers that a policyholder was smoking while paying the lower premiums of a non-smoker, it can refuse the claim.
"This could see a family lose out on a valuable and much-needed lump sum on the death of a loved one," he explained.
"It is very important to be honest and upfront with insurers when applying for life insurance," he added.
Mr Walsh said research shows that smokers can pay twice as much for life insurance as their non-smoking counterparts due to the increased health risks which come with smoking.
He said problem drinking or a recent history of alcohol abuse, can also make it more difficult or expensive to get life insurance and indeed in some cases, you might even be declined cover.
The survey reveals that 10% of women, and 2.5% of men have struggled to get life or serious illness insurance due to a health issue.
Meanwhile, 20% of those surveyed have never looked to get life or serious illness insurance – this jumps to 31% for those aged 25-34.
