It wasn’t that long ago that reporting to an insurer that you wished for nonsmokers homeowners insurance because nobody in the household was lighting up was not only good for the health of your family, but also for your wallet.
This is especially the case in Massachusetts. The nonsmokers homeowners insurance discount in the state had recently been an average of about $50 per year. Although it wasn’t anything that would make a tremendous financial difference, it was noticeable enough, even when it came time to make the monthly payments. However, over the last while, these discounts have been slowly fading away, to the point that they are now rather scarce.
In Massachusetts, nonsmokers homeowners insurance savings have frequently been eliminated by companies.
Insurers have either sharply cut back on the savings that is offered to people who don’t smoke, or they have eliminated it altogether. This has occurred alongside a significant decline in the number of people who are actually smoking and, therefore, to the number of fires that have been caused by smoking related habits and occurrences.
Among the companies that are still offering the savings is one based in Montpelier, Vermont Mutual Insurance Co. Although it is still giving people who don’t smoke a little bit of recognition of their lower risk, in the form of a discount, even they have reduced that amount from 5 percent savings to 2 percent in policies that have been issued as of this month. Their intention is to fade the program out altogether, one day, even though it has been a discount that they have offered for over half a century.
According to one of the company’s senior vice presidents, the nonsmoker homeowners insurance discount is “a legacy thing”. However, he explained that times have now changed, and smoking is no longer considered a good indicator as to whether or not there is an increased risk of fire.
