The Truth about Life Insurance for Smokers

If you are looking for the truth about life insurance for smokers, you have come to the right place!

Pull up a chair and get your coffee. Let’s dive in!

Life insurance is an important part of planning for the future. But what if you smoke? The truth is that smokers are more likely to die earlier than nonsmokers.

So, if you’re a smoker and want to buy life insurance, you may have to pay higher rates or get a smaller policy amount in order to find the right coverage for your needs.

Can You Get Life Insurance If You Smoke

Does smoking affect life insurance? For smokers, getting life insurance can be much more of an ordeal. However, life insurance is critical, because it protects our families.

Luckily, since it has been so difficult for smokers to find life insurance plans at a reasonable price, there are now plenty of life insurance companies that offer policies for smokers at low rates. 

Above all, they usually provide the cheapest life insurance for smokers which is great for saving money!

Interesting data about a smoker’s mortality rates in the CDC:

• The life expectancy of a smoker is, normally, at least 10 years shorter compared to somebody who doesn’t smoke.
• Should you stop before age 40, you could have the ability to lessen your chance of dying from a cardiovascular disorder by nearly 90%.
• Smoking can triple a middle-aged individual’s risk of dying from cardiovascular disease

The Main Reasons for smoking-related deaths are:

• Cancer (lung, larynx, esophagus, as well as the oral cavity)
• Esophageal disorder
• Heart Attack

Life Insurance for Smokers

Yes,  You Still Need Life Insurance Even at the Higher Premiums ~ Here is Why!

Why is buying a life insurance policy so important? Let’s get this out of the way before we go any further. Yes,  even at higher premiums, You Need Life Insurance Coverage!!!

In the unpredictable journey of life, the sole method of securing your family’s financial future, even in the face of worst-case scenarios, is undoubtedly through life insurance.

Dealing with funerals, which in themselves are a substantial financial burden amounting to several thousands of dollars, can be immensely challenging.

Add to this the emotional turmoil that a grieving family is already grappling with, and the weight becomes unbearable.

Hence, with life insurance, you can help alleviate this financial stress during such sorrowful times.You will need it especially if you have a history of pre-existing medical conditions.

In fact, even getting just an insurance plan for your funeral can help you sleep easier at night.

For instance, having protection for your family against high bills or any bills. However, you also must consider any debts, house/car payments, and, if you are employed.

Most importantly, the fact that your family will no longer be receiving your paychecks.

So, yes, life insurance is important for anyone that wishes to protect their loved ones after they’re gone.

Moreover, smoking is considered a special risk life insurance or high risk to most carriers.

Is Life Insurance Far More Expensive For Smokers

It’s important to note that your life insurance premium isn’t just higher for smokers, but instead if you chew tobacco in general. Oral tobacco users can be given similar rates to those who smoke regularly. This means you may be paying two times as much for your life insurance than a non-tobacco user.

Of course, you need to shop around and find the most forgiving insurance company for your unhealthy habits. After researching term life quotes, the numbers show that life insurance for smokers is often over three times higher in price than for non-smokers!

Term Insurance For Smokers Vs. Affordable Whole Life Insurance For Smokers

• What is term life insurance? How does it work? A term life insurance policy is great for certain terms such as 10, 20 or 30 years.  Of course, if you are indeed a smoker you will be paying higher premiums.  
• What is whole life insurance? How does it work? Whole life insurance for smokers is great for your entire life. You can borrow against the policy as it will generate cash value.  Whole life policies in general for non-smokers are higher in premiums and even higher for smokers.  It is best to consult with your independent insurance agent.  They can shop you multiple carriers at the same time. There is no one size fits all in life insurance.  Every person has different lifestyles, health impairments, family history, etc.

Comparing prices on your own is achievable and we even recommend you shop around.  

With that being said, it is also a daunting task that can lead to frustration and we often hear our clients say this is one of their reasons for putting it off. 

Best Life Insurance For Tobacco Users

For everyone, and especially for smokers, it’s essential to meet with several life insurance companies, compare rates and policies and find yourself the best deal.

 Life insurance for smokers varies drastically depending on which company you reach out to. You can cut down the cost significantly of life insurance for smokers by just looking at several companies. In some cases, what causes treated blood pressure can be years of smoking.

Occasional Smoker Life Insurance

What Do Life Insurance companies Consider As Smoking

Many cigar and e-cigarette users may be wondering if their rates will be as high as those that smoke cigarettes. 

Luckily, the majority of insurance companies won’t weigh smoking the occasional cigar against you. However, smoking cigars daily would be considered no different than a pack-a-day cigarette smoker. 

However, as mentioned before, you’ll want to shop around and find life insurance companies. Also, most life insurance for pot smokers will be considered tobacco rates with most carriers.

How Much Life Insurance Will I Need

Next, life insurance is a way of replacing your salary if passing away happens. Families are devastated financially after a loved one dies.  

Above all, you need to make sure you have enough life insurance to support all of your family’s potential expenses.

Does Smoking Affect Life Insurance Rates

First of all,  we want to get you the cheapest life insurance rates for smokers.  You’ll want to compare several life insurance companies to find the cheapest and best policies.

On top of this, there are things you can do before applying that could significantly lower your rate. This can be quitting smoking, losing weight, etc.

For those with health problems, like type 1 and type 2 diabetes, rates will likely be higher. However, those that try to keep healthy for a year before applying can potentially receive very low rates from most insurance companies

You can shop around by category. If you’re a habitual cigar smoker, you can find recommended life insurance for cigar smokers.

Here at PinnacleQuote, we can help you every step of the way, and make sure you’re getting the best coverage at the lowest rates. Above all, if you are a smoker and you shopping for life insurance for seniors over 75, term life insurance will be very expensive.

20 Year Term Female Rates

Age	Sex	Smoker	Non-Smoker
25	Female	$57.76	$20.89
35	Female	$77.89	$25.43
45	Female	$163.94	$47.62
55	Female	$363.81	$108.31

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20 Year Term Male Rates

Age	Sex	Smoker	Non-Smoker
25	Male	$73.08	$26.69
35	Male	$93.15	$30.15
45	Male	$223.19	$60.54
55	Male	$523.94	$150.12

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Best Life Insurance Companies For Smokers

• Banner Life
• Lincoln Financial
• Americo
• John Hancock

Keep in mind, each carrier will look at each individual differently.  There is no “one size fits all” in life insurance.  

Be honest with your medical history. Let your agent know if you smoke. So they can best determine which carrier to pair you with.

Cheapest Life Insurance Rates For Smokers And Non-Smokers

Let’s take a look at a comparison chart of life insurance rates…

Age and Policy Details	Policy Type	Non Smoker	Smoker
40-year-old Male 20 year $500,000 Policy	Preferred Plus: Protective	$32.30 Monthly	$221.16 Monthly

As you can see from the chart above, there is a considerable price difference between smoker and non-smoker rates.

Keep in mind, if you purchase life insurance at a smoker rate and quit smoking later on. You can qualify for a discount on premiums.  

Life Insurance For Ex Smokers

Do not put life insurance off until you quit.  Purchase life insurance now because the importance of having it outweighs the gamble of not having it. 

Use that monthly premium as a motivation to quit smoking!  Then 12 months after you have been smoke-free, call PinnacleQuote and we can re-eval your current policy.  

You would have to re-do a medical exam. But isn’t saving hundreds of dollars worth it?  I would say so!!!!

Does Smoking Void A Life Insurance Policy

Insurance for Smokers, What will the insurance company look for? So far you are aware of your life insurance rates as a smoker. In fact, your cigarette smoking is not the only kind of cigarette use a life insurance policy provider will consider smoker rates.  

They will want to know past history whenever you’re asking for coverage. It’s best, to be honest as they will be getting a paramedical test that requires getting a blood test. Should you use other tobacco-related goods such as smoking cigars and other tobacco products, such as:

• Cigars chewing/smokeless cigarette
• Electronic cigarette
• Patches/gum
• Marijuana

Best Life Insurance For Tobacco Users

Smoking And Other Statistics

Approximately 13 billion cigars were marketed in the USA in 2014. That does not automatically mean that you cannot possess an occasional puff in case a proper party breaks out.

However, even when you merely partake a couple of times every year,  it could impact your premiums. Your rates will change from 1 carrier to another. There’s not an established standard and they will all look at you differently.

Nicotine Patches and Gum: If you’re now using a nicotine patch or whether you’re chewing nicotine gum, then it is rather clear that you’re attempting to kick a habit.

While this might look to be a stage in your favor so far as deciding whether you’re considered a tobacco consumer, it is very likely to operate against you.

So irrespective of how it’s getting into your system, it might raise your chance of developing heart problems, which can be something that will not go over well with insurance companies.

Because of this, should you use marijuana for one reason or another and you wish to buy a life insurance plan, it is ideal to consult a licensed agent to find out whether it is okay before submitting your application.

All marijuana use is considered different in the eyes of each insurance company. Some states have legalized it. Some have not. So they are continually loosening their belts.

Is Life Insurance More Expensive For Smokers

Tobacco users normally pay higher premiums due to their life insurance compared to those who do not use tobacco. Why?

Individuals who smoke and use tobacco products are more likely to perish–and in old age–compared to people who do not.

More than 20 percent of deaths from the U.S. are from tobacco usage. That is greater than murders, automobile accidents, and HIV/AIDS combined.

A life insurance company is a lot more likely to need to cover a benefit to the insured–and much sooner than they would need to for non-tobacco users. And truth be told non-smokers in good health will get a preferred rating as opposed to smokers in not so great health.

Your very best option is to search around to get the best coverage for your circumstance.

There are lots of varying variables involved so that it might help you to function with an independent agent who deals with all these problems on a daily basis.

Lying About Smoking On Life Insurance

Questions You’ll Need To Answer

Among the first questions, you’re likely to be requested when you submit an application for life insurance coverage is about your tobacco/nicotine usage.

• Are you a user?
• Can you stop within the last calendar year?

Perhaps you quit years ago. Regardless of what tobacco-related product you’re using, some carriers will charge you more to get a life insurance plan should you admit to using some of them, present or past.

Perhaps you quit six months ago. Perhaps it’s been a complete calendar year. Some insurance providers require you to be free of having used any tobacco-related merchandise for as long as five years before they will provide you a preferred “non-smoker” life insurance rate.

The timing issues in the opinion of the insurance provider, even though to what extent will change based on the insurance company. That is why it pays to do your homework and shop around to find the best coverage.

How Do Life Insurance Companies Test For Nicotine Use

How long does cotinine stay in your system? It is very, VERY important that you are honest about your cigarette use on your life insurance policy program.

Lying isn’t just known as fraud, but the fact will eventually come out once you take a health examination that would likely consist of a saliva test, hair sample( hair test),  blood, or urine sample tests.

All of these tests detect nicotine.  Nicotine/Cotinine along with other tobacco-related compounds could take weeks, possibly even weeks or even more, to escape your system.

So, even over a period of time, you will still test positive if you are smoking these products.  It truly depends on how much you’ve used and for how long you have been utilizing it.

The result for you personally? The absolute best-case scenario is that the insurance carrier will just increase your prices and tag you like a tobacco user. However, being denied a policy–or even worse. Lying on your life insurance application is not worth the consequences:

Contestability Period – First two years of policy.  The consequence of lying on your application could result in the insurance company denying the payout of out your death benefit.

No Medical Exam Life Insurance For Smokers

Often times most people require a medical exam when choosing to purchase life insurance.

In case you choose to engage in a no-exam coverage, which probably appears to be a fantastic idea if you’re a smoker or if you utilize tobacco-related merchandise.

In fact, you can steer clear of the testing, but it is going to probably be more costly. Why? Since the insurer does not know a lot about your health, therefore issuing a policy could place them at higher risk.

Life Insurance For Smokers With COPD

First, what is COPD?  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.  A disorder of the lungs. When a person has severe COPD, they will be prone to chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and asthma.  

According to the COPD Foundation, COPD affects about 30 million people in the U.S. More than half of these people have symptoms and do not realize it.  

It has been estimated that 210 million people worldwide have COPD.   Total deaths will increase to more than 30% just in the next 10 years.

 Smoking is one of the main culprits of this horrible disease!

Depending on the severity of your disease, will depend on what underwriting will rate you when you apply for a policy. Extremely important to tell your agent your health history as they will know the best carriers at the best price.

Some questions you will be asked:

• Date of first onset/diagnosis
• Do you smoke/have you ever smoked
• Health history/health problems
• What type of lung disease do you have?  Such as bronchitis, emphysema, etc.
• Your list of medications

What Are The Four Stages Of COPD

• Stage 1 – Mild
• Stage 2 – Moderate
• Stage 3 – Severe
• Stage 4 -Very severe

Your life expectancy after COPD diagnosis will average.  Figure a five-year mortality rate will range from 40 to 70%.  It truly depends on the stage of COPD.  Some of the signs of end-stage COPD include:

• Shortness of breath
• Increased or frequent phlegm production
• Change in blood oxygen levels
• Chronic Cough

Smoking And COPD

As we have stated, smoking is a major cause of COPD.  Smoking damages the lungs.  This could cause chronic flare-ups. 

Many clients ask us, Can COPD improve after quitting smoking? If you quit smoking today, it will not reverse the damage or cure the disease.  However, your symptoms will be more tolerable and not be as severe.

COPD And Life Insurance Rates

As we have discussed, if you are a smoker, you will pay higher premiums. With a diagnosis of COPD, you will pay a higher rate as well.  

With that said, your independent agent will be able to shop you with multiple carriers at one time.  

Danny Ray is the owner and agent of PinnacleQuote.  He has over 25+ years of experience and relationships with the top-rated A+ carriers and their underwriting teams. He will know which carriers will offer you favorable rates.

How Does Smoking Affect Diabetes

Smoking is a health hazard for anybody, but for individuals with diabetes or a high risk of developing the illness, light up can contribute to serious health issues.

Scientists have long known that diabetes patients who smoke have higher blood sugar levels. Producing their disease is harder to control and putting them at greater threat of developing complications like blindness, nerve damage, kidney failure, and heart problems.

Now a new study provides the most definitive proof of why. It’s the nicotine in cigarettes!

Hemoglobin A1c — a combo of hemoglobin (which ferries oxygen) and glucose — is a typical indicator of blood sugar content within the body.

Doctors always understood smoking could make diabetes worse. Studies indicate that nicotine, when added to human blood samples, elevated levels of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) by up to 34 percent.

Let A PinnacleQuote Independent Agent Place You With The Best Policy

As a smoker or tobacco user, you get a huge array of alternatives out there in picking out the very best and cheapest life insurance policy. This requires a little time and effort, but it is well worth it. The issue is, you might not have enough time.

What is an independent life insurance agent?  At PinnacleQuote we’ll work with you to perform this study and help you discover the ideal policy.

You won’t need to randomly search the net hoping to find the very best alternative.  Or what you believe is the very best alternative. 

We do not just compare prices. And nobody is faster than PinnacleQuote. Our process, built on extreme efficiency.

Our instant life insurance quotes and using technology to receive policies issued without wasted time. We have the most efficient life insurance process in the industry.

Apply for a life insurance policy today! No matter your health impairment, medical history, or family history.  We can find you the best policy at the best price!!!

A licensed Pinnaclequote independent agent will be able to assist you. Only call 1-855-380-3300 and inquire about how it is possible to buy the very best life insurance rates for you. Also, check out our reviews.

Do Life Insurance Companies Test For Tobacco

Simple Answer: Yes during your paramedical exam.  A nurse will take your blood, urine test, and sometimes a mouth swab before your application approval.  All these tests will determine nicotine use. It is best to be completely honest.  You are better off with a higher premium than a decline altogether. 

How Long After Quitting Smoking Can You Get Life Insurance

What Happens If I quit smoking Today?

Simple Answer:  Call PinnacleQuote Life Insurance Specialists 12 months after quitting.  We will re-eval your current policy.  You will get a better rate if you are smoke-free for at least 12 months!

For more information on quitting smoking: CLICK HERE

Or CLICK HERE to speak to an expert (hotline)

FAQs

So, my smoking habits might up my life insurance costs?

Exactly! The extra health risks from smoking mean you’ll be asked to fork over a bit more. The exact amount depends on your overall health and how the insurance guys see it.

Can a smoker like me still get life insurance?

Absolutely, you can! But just be prepared to pay a tad more than someone who’s never lit up.

What happens if I quit smoking after I’ve got life insurance?

Great thinking! If you quit smoking after you’ve locked in your policy, and it has been a full consecutive year, call your agent! There is a huge opportunity to reduce your monthly premium payments.

Are there any life insurance policies made just for smokers?

Not exactly. But different insurance companies might offer you better deals. So, doing a little homework and comparing rates could save you some dough.

When does an insurance company call me a ‘smoker’?

If you’ve used any tobacco products in the past year, most insurance companies will consider you a smoker.

How do they know if I smoke or not?

They’ll straight-up ask you when you apply. They may also have you take a medical exam, which could include a test for nicotine.

Should I just skip telling them I smoke?

NO! You must be transparent. If they find out you weren’t honest, they could cancel your policy, or refuse to pay a claim.

What if I vape? Is that the same as smoking to them?

Every carrier is different and has its own guidelines. Many will see vaping and smoking as the same thing. But not all, so it’s worth asking your agent directly.

Will quitting smoking help me pay less?

Sure thing! If you quit smoking, after some time you might see your payments drop. Exactly how long will depend on your insurance company’s rules.

Conclusion

With so many smoking-related diseases on the rise, life insurance companies are becoming more cautious about insuring smokers.

If you’ve been turned down for coverage because of your tobacco use or have had to pay higher premiums than someone who doesn’t smoke like yourself, it may be time to consider some alternative options just in case the worst happens and you pass away prematurely from a preventable disease.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other providers that do offer affordable life insurance for smokers if they don’t qualify with traditional carriers.

Check out our quote box to the right and see how easy it is to find an affordable policy today!

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