The deal, believed to be the first of its type, is being pioneered by Animal Friends Insurance (AFI). The company is offering non-meat eaters a 6 per cent discount on insurance premiums



The firm claimed that vegetarians ought to pay less for the insurance cover, which pays out if the policyholder dies, because they were less likely to suffer from a range of chronic diseases, including some cancers.

Elaine Fairfax, AFI's managing director, claims that the risk of vegetarians being diagnosed with certain cancers is reduced by up to 40% and the risk of them suffering from heart disease is cut by up to 30%, but despite this they have, until now, had to pay the same life insurance premiums as people who eat meat.

She says that AFI think that this is unfair and says the life insurance industry should recognise the fact that being a vegetarian can create a very positive impact on life expectancy and cut its premiums accordingly.

A full-price policy is also on the market for meat eaters. Both policies are underwritten by LV=, which used to be known as Liverpool Victoria.

In common with standard life insurance policies, a range of factors contribute to the cost of the premium including whether the applicant smokes, their age, weight and sex.

At the moment, AFI is funding the 6% discount itself from the fee it receives from LV=. In the future, however, Ms Fairfax said the company's aim was to offer lower premiums on specialist policies. In offering the deal, the firm is hoping to sign up enough vegetarians to make it viable for LV= to underwrite another policy that takes the vegetarian's diet into account.

Indeed there are significant savings to be made, the discount reveals that a 40-year-old non-smoker purchasing £300,000 worth of cover might potentially save £393.60 over a 20-year period, says Ms Fairfax

Where life insurance is concerned, her company believes that insurers should begin to treat meat eaters and non-meat eaters in a way that is similar to the way they view smokers and non-smokers. Ms Fairfax hopes that other companies in the insurance industry will follow the initiative taken by AFI.

The head of protection strategy at the broker Lifesearch, Kevin Carr claimed he did not know of any insurer that takes account of a policyholder's diet

He also questioned if there was any proof that vegetarians lived longer, and how AFI or any other insurer would know that people who had stated that they were vegetarian did not munch on an occasional bacon sandwich.

"When it comes to smoking there are GP records - if you do smoke it's likely that your GP would know. This isn't the case when it comes to eating meat," he said.

But Ms Fairfax argued that she was not concerned about people falling off the vegetarian wagon and suggested that once a vegetarian has become a vegetarian, they don't go back to meat-eating, unlike smokers who tend to drift in and out of their habit.

Animal charities worldwide benefit from the net profits of AFI policies.