Saw this cool article in Time magazine that explains why women live around 3~6 years longer on average across the globe.
The issue for us life insurance guys is not so much why females live longer, but what female longevity means for life insurance. The short answer is that because women live longer, they pay lower life insurance premiums. Bugger.
So what can us mere men do about this? Are we doomed to paying higher premiums because of genetics? Well, according to the Time article, there is something we can do… basically research tells us that the 3~6 year gap is only 30% genetics and 70% to do with environmental factors… the factors us men can actually control.And let’s face it – there is little that men control these days so this is a very, very good thing!
So what are these controllable factors that cause men to die earlier than women? Apparently there are three…
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Men smoke more (although this gap is closing)
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Men eat more... particularly the foods that increase cholesterol
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Men deal with stress by internalising it rather than letting go the way women do.
And that’s pretty much it. These three behaviours account for around 2~4 years of our truncated lives.
And that’s why we (us men) pay more for life insurance!!! Go figure.
