Life Insurance - Life Insurance To Protect Against Toilet Humour

When taking out life insurance, many people think of the obvious risks. Cancer, heart disease and accidents are the main concerns, although thankfully these won't happen to the majority of us.

But have you ever considered life insurance to cover dying of laughter? Have you ever considered the possibilities of dying on the toilet? It happens.

There are many deaths reputed to be attributable to laughter. As far back as 207 BC a Greek philosopher by the name of Chrysippus was apparently watching his drunken donkey trying to eat figs when he laughed himself to death.

More recently, a 50 year old bricklayer died after 25 continuous minutes of laughing while watching an episode of the Goodies on TV. His death was put down to heart failure, brought on by the excessive strains of laughing too much.

Dying of laughter itself is not possible. It is thought that it only possible if choking or heart failure occur at the same time. Thankfully, this is not very likely as, according to health experts, patients with heart disease will laugh less than anybody else.

This is due to the stress levels. Endothelial cells form a protective lining in our blood vessels and stress impairs the production of these cells. A weak endothelium can lead to hardened arteries, quite literally, hardening the heart.

It has been surmised that it is possible to suffocate during excessive laughter. During laughter, the epiglottis constricts the larynx. This restricts our ability to breath but the automatic breathing response will take over before it's too late.

Laughter has, in fact, been found to be a great medicine. So much so that laughter therapy is now a recognised practice. It reduces the stress hormones and our bodies natural produce killer cells to ward off all types of diseases and virus's.

In fact, laughter is a good all-over workout. Blood pressure is lowered, there is an increase in vascular blood flow and more oxygen reaches the blood stream. Diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg and back muscles are given such a work out that laughing 100 times is the equivalent of 10 minutes on a rowing machine or 15 minutes on an exercise bike.

The dangers of a negative lifestyle are well documented. The emotions of a negative person can cause biochemical changes that affect our health adversely.

Surely, if laughter is this good for you there should be a clause in life insurance policies to reflect it? There is a section asking about regular exercise. If a gym membership lowers the premiums for life insurance then shouldn't a sunny disposition do the same? Is laughing at the cost of life insurance enough?

There's also the other hidden danger in life that is not mentioned on life insurance policies and that's the risk of dying on the toilet. It is widely believed, though not proven, that Elvis Presley died whilst on the toilet and he is not the only famous person to have this eulogy.

From slipping on a wet bathroom floor, pulling down a high mounted old-fashioned toilet system, pinching injuries from broken toilet seats to broken hips from slipping off a dodgy toilet seat, toilet injuries are common place but death?

It really is physically possible to die from going to the toilet. This is apparently due to a drop in blood pressure due to the parasympathetic nervous system during bowel movements. However, it is expected that there will already be a circulatory problem before the event.

So, when taking out that life insurance policy, check the small print and ensure you are covered for every day events such as going to the toilet and laughing.