Washington, D.C. – Today the Consumer Choice Center launched its policy primer offering simple reforms to provide Americans with more competitive, reasonable, and accurate insurance rates. The result of reform would be more choice and lower costs for consumers in the insurance market. 

The primer, Fixing What’s Broken: Practical Consumer-Friendly Insurance Reforms to Save Money, focuses on two pressing issues for American consumers. First, it analyzes how insurance providers can adapt to the emerging scientific reality of tobacco harm reduction and consumer trends toward less harmful nicotine alternatives to smoking. Second, this primer explains different models for structuring consumer auto insurance and suggests how costly legal battles can be minimized, in turn lowering costs and premiums.

Elizabeth Hicks, US Affairs Analyst at the Consumer Choice Center, commented on the health & life insurance policy recommendations, saying, “Anyone who’s ever applied for health or life insurance has had to answer if they use nicotine, and that inevitably leads to higher premiums. But those who use less harmful non-combustible nicotine products such as vaping or pouches don’t face nearly the same risk. Why should they pay the same high premiums as smokers?” 

By discerning the significant differences between traditional tobacco products and non-combustible nicotine alternatives for health and long-term medical costs, insurers and consumers together stand to save millions.

“The health insurance industry, as well as policymakers, should want smokers to cease smoking or switch to less harmful alternatives. Insurance plans are long overdue for accurately calculating risk around nicotine-use and restructuring consumer’s rates,” added Hicks.

Guided by state insurance commissioners, actuarial calculations at insurance firms should be recalibrated to reflect the current scientific reality on tobacco harm reduction, giving smokers an immediate financial incentive to make the switch to less harmful products. It makes no sense to penalize nicotine users who do not use combustible products.

“This change would not only reflect scientific consensus, but also promote a better economic calculation on future costs and risk profiles in the healthcare space. It would give more options to insurance firms and spur them to compete for potential customers,” concluded Hicks. 

The policy primer can be read in full HERE.

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The Consumer Choice Center is an independent, nonpartisan consumer advocacy group championing the benefits of freedom of choice, innovation, and abundance in everyday life for consumers in over 100 countries. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Washington, Brussels, Ottawa, Brasilia, London, and Geneva. Find out more at www.consumerchoicecenter.org