Can a history of substance abuse raise your life insurance rates?

heroin.”

For those who have gone through treatment and recovery, insurers recommend waiting at least two years before seeking life insurance.

State Farm generally uses two years of being clean and sober as a benchmark to revisit a policy, but Hixon warns that the rates may still be a little higher.

Pinney says that insurance companies are looking for three things when it comes to underwriting drug and alcohol abuse:

complete disclosure of problems,
compliance with their doctor’s orders to stop the behavior,
and what is the ultimate result of that person’s efforts to remain clean and sober.



Facts and Myths about alcohol

1.) A person who wants to drink less alcohol should drink white wine.

Fact:

The standard 5-ounce serving of white or red wine, a 12-ounce bottle of beer and a ½-ounce shot of 80 proof distilled spirits contain the same amount of alcohol and register the same on a Breathalyzer test.

2.) Drinking red wine is good for your heart.

Fact:

Red wine can prevent heart disease if it is limited to only one drink a day.

3.) DoesDrinking beer causes a “beer belly”?

Myth:

Eating too much food causes a “beer belly.” No beer or other alcohol beverage is necessary is needed to create one.

 4.) Drinking will add pounds to your waistline.

Myth:

Drinking alcohol does not cause weight gain. This myth is widely believed because alcohol does have calories. Extensive research has concluded that it does not cause weight gain in men. For women, the research found alcohol frequently causes limited weight loss.

5.) Only college students binge drink.

Myth:

Few college students are binge drinkers. In recent years, the number of students that drink continues to decline including the number of students that drink heavily. Some researchers have defined binge drinking as consuming at least four drinks a day for women and five drinks a day for men. Many college students become branded as binge drinkers because they qualify under that definition. However, by definition binge drinking is an extended period of drunkenness that lasts for several days while the drinker drops out of normal life activities.

6.) Men and women can drink the same amount of alcohol if they are roughly the same height and weight.

Fact:

Men can metabolize alcohol faster because they have more lean muscle than women. Lean muscle helps dilute the affects of alcohol because it increases the percentage of body water. Women typically have a little more fat than lean muscle compared to men. Also, alcohol can affect women more rapidly. Women also have less of the enzyme dehydrogenase, which metabolizes alcohol. And woman’s menstrual cycle also affects how alcohol is absorbs and metabolized.

7.) The strictest drinking laws are found in the United States

Fact:

Among Western nations, the United States has the strictest drinking laws for young people. Age 21 is the highest minimum drinking age in the entire world. These tight rules continue by covering adults with zero tolerance rules regarding public intoxication and drinking and driving. 8.) The country with the highest consumption of alcohol in the world per capita is the United States.

Myth

9.) The United States is ranked 32nd with an average consumption rate of 1.74 gallons of pure alcohol per person annually.

Myth:

According to latest estimates, the Top 10 Alcohol Consuming Countries and the average gallons of pure alcohol consumed per person is:

Portugal 2.98
Luxembourg 2.95
France 2.87
Hungary 2.66
Spain 2.66
Czech Republic 2.64
Denmark 2.61
Germany 2.50
Austria 2.50
Switzerland 2.43

Sources: Alcohol: Problems and Solutions, Hanson, David; Carroll, C.R. Drugs in Modern Society; Cline, C. N. (Ed.) The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) of Life; Wechsler, H., et al., Journal of American College Health, 1998; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; Avis, H. Drugs and Life; Lowenson, J., et al. (Eds.) Substance: A Comprehensive Textbook; Barr, A. Drink: A Social History of America.

This article originally published on www.lifequotes.com.

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