In most cases, life insurance will cover alcohol-related deaths as long as your alcohol use was disclosed honestly when you took out the policy. For instance, life insurance would generally cover death by liver cancer, which can be caused by drinking alcohol.

However, there may be some alcohol-related exclusions written into your life insurance contract. For example, it is common for life insurers to say they will not pay out for deaths caused by reckless behaviour, which could include things like drink driving or falling from a height while drunk.

In most cases, you don’t need to tell your insurer if your drinking habits change after your life insurance policy has started. Life insurance is usually assessed based on the information you gave when you applied, and insurers don’t routinely ask for updates about lifestyle changes during the policy term.

It can still be possible to get life insurance if you have cirrhosis, but your options are likely to be more limited.

Many mainstream insurers will see cirrhosis as a higher-risk pre-existing condition, which can lead to higher premiums, additional exclusions, or an application being declined, depending on the severity of the condition and how it is being managed.

For example, the life insurer Vitality would generally only consider life insurance applications from people with cirrhosis if they:

• have been completely abstinent from alcohol for at least 3 years

• have nearly normal liver function

• have no other related co-morbidities

Some people with cirrhosis may find specialist or guaranteed-acceptance policies easier to access, such as over 50s life insurance, which does not require medical questions. These policies tend to offer smaller payouts and higher costs, and often include a waiting period before deaths from illness are covered.

In most cases, a family history of alcoholism on its own won’t make your life insurance more expensive. Insurers are mainly interested in your own health and lifestyle, including how much you drink currently, rather than the drinking habits of your relatives.

Insurers may ask about certain medical conditions in your immediate family, such as liver disease or alcohol-related illnesses, as part of their overall risk assessment. Even then, family history is usually just one small factor. If you don’t drink heavily yourself and you’re otherwise in good health, it’s unlikely to have a noticeable impact on the price you pay.

Yes, you should still declare to your life insurer that you drink alcohol, even if it's infrequent. In most cases, light or infrequent drinking won’t affect your ability to get cover or the price you pay.

A bigger risk comes from not answering accurately. If your application asks about alcohol use and you leave it out or understate it, that could cause problems later if a claim is made.

Yes, you can usually get critical illness cover if you drink alcohol, but the rules are often stricter than for life insurance.

Critical illness cover pays out if you are diagnosed with one of the serious conditions listed in your policy, such as cancer, stroke or a heart attack.

However, if your alcohol intake is high, insurers may increase your premiums or apply exclusions. In particular, many policies will not pay out for illnesses linked to alcohol misuse. For example, if you were diagnosed with a condition such as liver disease or liver cancer and it was linked to your drinking, your claim may be declined.

But as with all insurance, it’s important to answer questions about your alcohol use honestly. Insurers can request medical records before paying out a claim, and if they conclude that you provided incorrect information they could deny your claim, leaving you without a payout and out of pocket for all the premiums you've previously paid.