Every term life insurance company is different, and some of them base part of their rates on different things than others. There are some activities that are commonly seen as high risk amongst insurance carriers, though, and if you engage in them you are likely to be charged more for your coverage. Of course, some of these activities can be risky, so it’s understandable that insurance companies might charge a bit more. Still, from the standpoint of someone who likes adventurous activities, we have to wonder if it throwing salt on the wound that a guy didn’t have as much life insurance on top of potentially dying a weird or gruesome death.

Here are some of the activities that will bump up your premiums:

• Skydiving is an activity that’s likely to get you charged more. There’s an old Army ditty that says, “if my chute don’t open wide, I’ve got another one by my side. If that one should fail me, too, look out below, I’m coming through.” Nothing says good bye quite like splattering yourself over the countryside from a mile in the air.

• Your term life insurance could cost you more if you’re into SCUBA diving, too. Something about hanging out under water with critters that can eat you is our best guess as to why. Of course, if some poor sap is being chewed on by a hammerhead shark, he probably isn’t too worried about his insurance at the moment anyway.

• Believe it or not, holding a private pilot’s license can cost you more on your insurance. Ironically, it doesn’t even matter if you use it. The fact that you could means you get to pay a little more.

Of course, some insurance companies have more extensive lists of risky activities for which they’re inclined to add a nickel here and a dime there to your premiums. It all depends on what company you deal with, so shop around a little.

There is one risky behavior, though, that virtually all life insurance companies charge more for. If you smoke or use tobacco products, you will pay more for your term life insurance. Of course, smokers don’t usually die the kinds of dramatic deaths that SCUBA divers or skydivers have the potential for, but they do tend to die about ten years earlier than non-smokers, and often of things like lung cancer which can be rather gruesome in their own right.

We wouldn’t presume to tell you whether or not to smoke, but we will give you this tip. If you do smoke, and quit, make sure you let your insurance agent know. Your rates just may go down.

Photo via divemasterking2000