Life insurance policies are a crucial part of your financial security. They provide your loved ones with a monetary safety net if you were to pass away suddenly. Life insurance policies can also be used to pay off your debts or may be used as a donation to a charity of your choosing. No matter your lifestyle, everyone can benefit from carrying a life insurance policy. However, not all policies and rates are created equal. Life insurance rates are determined through someone’s life expectancy, making things that contribute negatively to your health a factor in your policy’s price.
If you are a smoker, you have most likely heard about the health risks that come with the habit. Not only are you running the risk of cancer, but you also are looking at a much higher life insurance rate. In fact, life insurance for smokers may cost as much as four times the rate as a non-smoker.
Why Do Smokers Pay More for Life Insurance?
As previously stated, things that are bad for your health are also bad for your life insurance rates. Smoking has been proven to cause an array of severe and often deadly diseases in those who consume tobacco, such as:
- Lung cancer
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- COPD
- Type two diabetes
- Oropharyngeal cancer
- Cataracts
- Esophageal cancer
When someone applies for life insurance, they are given a questionnaire to fill out. These questionnaires contain inquiries pertaining to a person’s health, medical history, and life habits. Things that may shorten your life expectancy will increase your life insurance rates. Even if you are a reasonably new smoker who is yet to see any health repercussions from using tobacco, life insurance providers often push you into the higher rate bracket automatically. Most life insurance providers will assume you are more likely to have serious health issues in the future than a non-smoker.
Who Do Life Insurance Providers Consider a “Smoker”?
There are a number of ways people consume tobacco and nicotine, most of which make it on the ‘smoking list’ for insurance providers. Smoking cigarettes would very clearly make a potential policyholder a ‘smoker,’ but what other products would garnish the same label? As we are seeing a growing wave of popularity with vaping and e-cigarette users, these individuals should be warned that life insurance providers will consider them smokers, despite the lack of tobacco in the products they use. Such products can include the following:
- Cigarettes
- Vaping nicotine
- E-cigarettes
- Tobacco pipes
- Hookahs
- Cigars
- Chewing tobacco
- Bidis (thin cigarettes)
- Dissolvable tobacco
- Nicotine replacements (patches, gum, nose spray, etc.)
- Heated tobacco
- Snuff
Oftentimes, cigar users are considered smokers; however, some life insurance providers show leniency if the potential policyholder smokes one cigar or less per month. Cannabis users are sometimes classified as ‘smokers’ by life insurance providers. However, it depends on how cannabis is consumed. The insurance provider may also consider the frequency in which the cannabis is consumed and whether the applicant has a medical prescription. Life Insurance providers may vary in their ‘smoker’ definition, so if you are a cannabis user, it is best to ask a professional life insurance agent for more details.
How Do Life Insurance Providers Know Someone Is a Smoker?
When you apply for life insurance, the first step is answering the medical history questions about your health. It would be best if you answered the questions truthfully, as life insurance providers have numerous ways to fact-check your information. The most typical way is through a mandated physical with a nurse.
During a physical exam, blood and urine samples are collected and run through an array of tests, one of which can detect cotinine (a byproduct of nicotine) in the patient’s system via their urine, saliva, or hair. However, cotinine often leaves a person’s body after 1-3 days of not smoking. Multiple life insurance companies have reported how around 20% of applicants who claim to be non-smokers will have cotinine in their urine samples. In addition, most of those in the 20% are between the ages of 18-30.
Because smoking can be so detrimental to someone’s health, life insurance companies have practices to confirm or deny tobacco and nicotine use extensively. Life insurers lose billions of dollars per year due to undisclosed tobacco use, so their incentive to thoroughly investigate is apparent. Some ways a life insurance provider may assess your potential tobacco use are through:
- Medical Records: Your medical history is likely well documented, making signs of current or past tobacco or nicotine use easy to find out.
- Pharmaceutical Records: Life insurance providers also review your prescription history, as well as your current medication regimen. Evidence of nicotine use may be evident due to prescriptions for a smoking-cessation medication.
- Social Media Posts: Sometimes, insurance companies may check a potential policyholder’s social media accounts for any evidence of the person being a nicotine or tobacco user.
- Past Insurance Applications: Some companies compare the answers from your life insurance application to questionnaires you have filled out in the past. They are looking for changes or inaccuracies that would affect your life insurance rate.
Can I Purchase Life Insurance without a Medical Exam?
Many life insurance providers offer policies without the need for a medical exam. However, the lack of exams comes with a hefty price tag. Many insurance companies carry “Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance,” which requires no exam and no health history questionnaire. The rates of these life insurance policies are determined through the age, gender, and coverage amount being requested by the applicant.
These types of life insurance policies may sound ideal. However, if a provider has no way of determining your health, the price to insure you will be considerably more expensive. Not only are these types of policies one of the most costly on the market, but they also tend to offer low payout amounts, typically between the $5k-$25k range. Many smokers may find themselves better off just submitting to the medical exam and accepting the higher rate for the higher policy payout.
Smoking Life Insurance Rates versus Non-Smoking Rates
As stated above, tobacco and nicotine users should not be surprised by their high life insurance quotes. Smoker life insurance rates are typically between 2-4 times higher than a non-smoker. The price gap between smokers and non-smokers also grows considerably if the policyholder is a middle-aged smoker rather than a smoker in their 20s. According to Canada’s Life Insurance Statistics, the average price difference between smokers and non-smokers is as follows:
| Age | Non-Smoker | Smoker |
| 18 | $12.09 | $16.54 |
| 25 | $12.09 | $16.64 |
| 35 | $12.82 | $21.08 |
| 45 | $20.18 | $42.94 |
| 55 | $40.98 | $99.29 |
| 65 | $114.26 | $250.78 |
If I Were to Begin Smoking after Purchasing Life Insurance, How Would That Affect My Rate?
Once you have purchased your life insurance policy, the insurance provider cannot raise your rates, despite your new, risky habit. The same can be said for any other dangerous hobbies you may take up or any health conditions you are diagnosed with post-policy purchase. Luckily for life insurance providers, people are far less likely to take up smoking later in life. A staggering 90% of smokers start smoking by age 20 or younger.
What Happens to My Life Insurance Rate if I Stop Smoking?
The difference in life insurance prices between smokers and non-smokers is staggering, but there may be some good news. The majority of life insurance providers will grant a previous smoker a “non-smoker status” if they are 12 or more months nicotine/tobacco-free, meaning your new life insurance policy will be much more affordable.
However, what if you already purchased a life insurance policy at a ‘smoker’s rate’? If you have been nicotine and tobacco-free for a year or more, you have the option to request a rate adjustment through your life insurance provider. Most life insurance providers will review and adjust your rate according to your new health update.
How Do I Find the Best Life Insurance Rate as a Smoker?
The best way to find your ideal insurance policy is to shop around and ask for help and information from professional life insurance representatives, such as those at Hometown Life Insurance, located in Ontario, Canada. Hometown Life Insurance agents make the security of their clients a top priority and work tirelessly to aid and educate potential and current policyholders on the best insurance products for their lives and budgets. The experienced agents with Hometown Life Insurance have spent their careers gaining expertise within the life insurance market.
Final Thoughts
Smoking and vaping are verifiable unhealthy habits, but they do not just affect your health; they affect your life insurance rate. Life insurance policies are valuable assets that provide a valued peace of mind for those who wish to lay a financial safety net for when they pass away. However, habits and illnesses that have a negative effect on your longevity will always cause your life insurance rate to be higher.
Whether you are a current smoker, a previous smoker, or have never smoked, the experienced professionals at Hometown Life Insurance are here to help guide you through purchasing your life insurance plan while answering any questions you may have. Contact one of our valued representatives at 289-606-0103.
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