War of sexes through the prism of insurance

The modern Western society is at war, which influences and affects virtually all domains of life and forces people to reconsider traditions, judgments and practices. This is the war of sexes. And if some domains women are left by men behind, when it comes to insuring one's life, the strong sex is clearly losing it, with women going far ahead. But why is that so?

Back in February, the Society of Actuaries has conducted a study concluding that high amounts of testosterone (i.e. the male hormone) lead to more harmful effects on health and behavior, not to mention the overall risk-taking property of this substance, which makes men more prone to undertaking hazardous activities than women. Higher blood pressure and lower immune system activity is the cause of the substantial difference in mortality rates and serious health issues, which are most obvious at the age of 22, when men have the highest amounts of the hormone in their blood.

For a long time the common belief was that women live longer because they are not subjected to serious stress and hazards, traditionally working at home. But with the modern tendencies of women undertaking tasks that are traditionally done by men, researchers have observed that women who are making part of the working force actually have a longer duration of life even compared to those who stay at home.

Another study has analyzed the overall demographic mortality rates in men and women of the same age. As a result, not only men typically live less then women, but they are more likely to suffer from potentially fatal health conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, strokes, infections, and other serious health issues. That's why men usually pay more for life insurance then women. Another common threat for both sexes is smoking, which is more prevalent in men (however, today now women tend to smoke a lot too). And comparing the life expectancy of a smoker and non-smoker, the difference is as much as nine years, in favor of the non-smoker of course. That's another factor contributing to higher life insurance rates.

Still, these overall tendencies can be reversed if you take in consideration all of the risks you are prone to and make everything possible to minimize them. If you feel that you are prone to some disease, lower the risk by kicking bad habits, exercising regularly and switching to a healthy lifestyle in general. This will not only improve your overall quality of life but will also lower your life insurance rates substantially. Even if you are a woman, reading this, then you should think about improving your healthy lifestyle too as there's no point in overpaying for insurance just because you have a bad habit like smoking that is hurting you in general.

Remember that lowering your insurance rates is possible, it only takes a few steps towards a healthier way of living your life that will pay off in the long run far beyond simple life insurance costs.