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Did you know that life insurance for smokers is double to triple the price of non-smokers? That can add up to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars more that smokers pay over the life of the policy!
But not all life insurance companies treat smokers the same way. The trick is to find the one that views you as low risk and offers you the best rates.
This comprehensive guide will reveal how smoking affects your life insurance rates and how you can get the best life insurance policy as a smoker.
- Key takeaways:
- The insurance company considers you a smoker if you used any nicotine products in the past 12 months.
- Depending on your tobacco use, some life insurers may classify you as a non-smoker.
- Life insurance for smokers is much more expensive than for non-smokers.
- If you quit smoking for 12 months, you can apply to reduce your life insurance premiums.
How Does Smoking Affect Life Insurance?
An estimated 4 million Canadians smoke cigarettes, and approximately 45,000 die from the effects of tobacco use every year.
Smoking cigarettes causes all kinds of health effects, including cancer and heart disease. Most people with lung cancer currently smoke or have smoked in the past, and lung cancer causes more deaths than any other type of cancer.
Here’s the stat that jumps out at you:
Smokers lose about nine years of life expectancy! It is the leading cause of premature death in Canada, accounting for 21% of all deaths in the past decade. No wonder life insurance companies are concerned about smoking.
Who's considered a smoker by a life insurance company?
Insurance companies will label you as a smoker if you have used any form of tobacco or nicotine product within the past 12 months. Yes, even if you’ve only smoked one cigarette in the past year.
Can you get life insurance if you're a smoker?
In most cases, you won’t have any problems buying life insurance as a smoker. However, your smoking status is not the only thing insurance providers inspect. Underwriting is like solving a puzzle, and smoking is only one piece of the puzzle.
Underwriters also consider your current health, medical history, family history, lifestyle choices, and more. With a complete picture, the underwriter will know whether to offer you life insurance coverage.
What if you have other chronic diseases?
Two smoking-related illnesses are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Mild cases of COPD might result in a rating of 75-150%; moderate cases a rating of over 150%; severe cases usually lead to a decline.
The rating for mild and moderate cases of asthma isn’t as high, but severe cases combined with smoking will likely lead to a decline.
What if you use other nicotine products?
Cigarette smoking isn’t the only thing that would get you labeled as a smoker from the insurer’s point of view. Here are a few other common nicotine products.
Cigar
Occasional smokers who smoke cigars only may qualify for non-smoker rates. How infrequent is occasional? For most insurers, you’re allowed one per month.
E-cigarettes
Because e-cigarettes contain nicotine, insurance companies classify users as smokers even though they don’t contain tobacco.
Chewing tobacco
Using smokeless tobacco products like chewing tobacco, snuff, and snus increases the chance of oral cancers—cancer of the mouth, tongue, throat, lip, gum, or cheek. As a result, life insurance providers will consider their users as smokers.
Nicotine patches and nicotine gum
These smoking cessation products also contain nicotine, so life insurance companies will charge you the higher premiums of smokers.
Marijuana
Marijuana users may have an easier time qualifying for non-smoker rates. The insurance company will want to know:
- The type of cannabis you use
- How often you use it
- How much you use
- The reason you use it
All these will affect your life insurance rates. For the most part, marijuana smokers who light up two or fewer joints per week can qualify for non-smoker rates. Check out this post for more information on how insurance companies treat cannabis users.
Is life insurance expensive if you smoke?
Term life insurance premiums for smokers are two to three times more than for non-smokers. Smoking doesn’t affect the premium for whole life insurance policies as much. These cost 25-75% more for smokers.
Does smoking void a life insurance policy?
As long as you declared it on the life insurance application, the insurance company can’t void your policy or decline a claim.
How Do Life Insurance Companies Know If You're A Smoker?
The main ways they find out is through a medical exam or a report from your family doctor.
Do you have to take a medical exam to test for nicotine?
It depends on your age and how much death benefit you’re buying. For most people up to age 50 buying up to $1,000,000, they might be able to bypass the medical exam. However, the underwriter can order one for you based on your answers to the health questions.
If you do have to undergo the medical exam, two tests check for cotinine, a nicotine byproduct:
- Urine test
- Blood test
How long does nicotine stay in your system?
For heavy smokers, nicotine can stay in your body for up to a year. Older people and those with poor liver function will have nicotine lingering for a longer period, even if they are light or moderate smokers.
Don’t worry; if you hang out with many smokers at work or in a social environment, cotinine won’t show up in your system.
What if you lie about smoking on your life insurance application?
If the insurer finds out you lied on the application, it will void your policy, and your beneficiaries will receive nothing. The following is taken straight from an insurance contract:
When there is an indication of fraud, we can declare this Policy void at any time. Fraud includes but is not limited to a material misrepresentation of the smoking habit of any Life Insured. If the Policy is declared void for fraud, we will not refund Premiums paid.
Should you quit smoking before buying life insurance?
The short answer: no. Here are two major reasons why:
- You need life insurance coverage now. Whether you just bought a home and have a gigantic mortgage, have young children at home, or are the family’s sole breadwinner, you cannot put it off. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, and every day you delay having coverage is another day that an unforeseen event can occur.
- There’s no guarantee you will quit. Relapse rates for smokers trying to stop are incredibly high, falling between 60 to 90% in the first year. And even if you do quit smoking, you don’t know when that will be.
The bottom line? Buy life insurance while you’re young and healthy even if you smoke.
How long do you have to quit smoking to be considered a non-smoker?
If you have been smoke-free for at least 12 months, you can apply to have your status changed to a non-smoker. Of course, the insurance company can’t just take your word for it. As proof that you no longer smoke, you have to take a urine and blood test and test negative for cotinine. You’ll also need to confirm that you’re still in good health.
Research shows that within a year of quitting smoking, the chance of developing heart disease is cut in half compared to that of a smoker. Similarly, the chance of developing lung cancer drops in half after five to 15 years of quitting.
The health benefits don’t end there. The earlier you quit, the longer your life expectancy. Quitting at age 60 earns about three years of life expectancy while stopping at age 30 gains about 10 years!
- Pro tip:
- Tell your family doctor immediately after you decide to quit smoking and have had your last cigarette. This will come in handy when you want to change to non-smoker rates.
What if you start smoking after buying life insurance?
Do you have to tell the insurance company?
If you start smoking after your coverage is already in effect, there’s nothing the insurance company can do. Although you must disclose your smoking status at the time of application, you do not need to let the insurance company know if you’ve taken up smoking after the policy is in effect.
That’s because underwriting is done based on the facts about you at the time of application. As long as you answered truthfully, you don’t have to worry about voiding your policy. Anything that happens after should not and does not affect your premium.
This is the main reason why you should buy life insurance while you are young and healthy. You never know what is going to happen in the future that may affect your eligibility.
Life Insurance Premium Comparison: Smokers vs Non-Smokers
Term life insurance for smokers
The cheapest life insurance policy you can get is term life insurance. You can get a large death benefit with the most affordable rates. Here’s a table showing the monthly premiums for $500,000 of death benefit for a 20-year term.
| Age | Monthly premiums for male non-smoker | Monthly premiums for male smoker | Monthly premiums for female non-smoker | Monthly premiums for female smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $31.05 | $54.90 | $22.50 | $30.60 |
| 25 | $31.05 | $55.80 | $23.85 | $35.10 |
| 30 | $31.50 | $61.65 | $24.30 | $42.75 |
| 35 | $36.45 | $88.65 | $29.25 | $66.60 |
| 40 | $51.30 | $136.80 | $39.60 | $99.90 |
| 45 | $85.50 | $223.20 | $66.60 | $150.75 |
| 50 | $141.30 | $395.10 | $94.05 | $234.45 |
| 55 | $234.45 | $587.70 | $202.95 | $368.10 |
| 60 | $423.90 | $916.65 | $305.10 | $621 |
| 65 | $696.15 | $1,361.25 | $474.75 | $899.10 |
As you can see, the life insurance premium for smokers over 40 increases rapidly. Life insurance for smokers over 50 rises even more steeply.
Whole life insurance for smokers
Although insurance premiums are higher for whole life insurance, it provides coverage for your whole life, guaranteeing a payout when you die. Below is the monthly premium for $100,000 of coverage for whole life insurance.
| Age | Monthly premiums for male non-smoker | Monthly premiums for male smoker | Monthly premiums for female non-smoker | Monthly premiums for female smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $46.53 | $59.67 | $41.76 | $50.40 |
| 25 | $53.64 | $70.65 | $46.71 | $59.85 |
| 30 | $64.98 | $87.57 | $56.70 | $74.34 |
| 35 | $75.69 | $113.94 | $67.95 | $91.71 |
| 40 | $92.43 | $152.73 | $84.60 | $117.90 |
| 45 | $123.48 | $209.25 | $108.18 | $153.99 |
| 50 | $155.52 | $263.34 | $126.54 | $186.21 |
| 55 | $202.41 | $327.06 | $168.39 | $235.17 |
| 60 | $247.95 | $402.57 | $201.51 | $273.96 |
| 65 | $323.73 | $525.78 | $286.38 | $365.49 |
| 70 | $493.56 | $717.93 | $410.67 | $526.14 |
| 75 | $714.51 | $951.93 | $566.91 | $699.66 |
No medical exam life insurance for smokers
Besides an underwritten policy that may require a medical exam, you can also get a no exam policy. Because the application process is simpler, you have a shorter waiting period before the insurance company issues the policy. Granted, you’ll have to pay higher premiums compared to a traditional policy.
It’s also a great option if you have been denied life insurance because of medical conditions. Here are some term life insurance rates for $500,000 of death benefit for a 20-year term.
| Age | Monthly premiums for male non-smoker | Monthly premiums for male smoker | Monthly premiums for female non-smoker | Monthly premiums for female smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $40.50 | $54 | $33.30 | $40.50 |
| 25 | $41.40 | $54 | $33.30 | $41.85 |
| 30 | $41.85 | $62.10 | $34.20 | $52.20 |
| 35 | $43.65 | $81.90 | $35.55 | $71.55 |
| 40 | $54.90 | $126.45 | $43.20 | $96.75 |
| 45 | $81.90 | $217.80 | $62.10 | $166.05 |
| 50 | $142.20 | $381.15 | $107.10 | $282.60 |
| 55 | $230.85 | $624.60 | $172.35 | $396 |
| 60 | $404.10 | $985.50 | $300.15 | $585 |
Can you get preferred rates as a smoker?
Non-smokers in great health can get the preferred non-smoker rate, so insurance companies also reward smokers in good health with preferred smoker rates.
Qualification for preferred smoker rates depends on health and lifestyle factors. These are:
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol level
- Height and weight
- Alcohol and drug abuse
- Driving and criminal record
- Lifestyle choices
- Occupation
- Travel and residency
- Your medical history
- Family history of hereditary health conditions
It’s not easy to qualify for preferred rates. A single factor outside the range will disqualify you from preferred rates.
But if you do qualify, it’s one of the best ways to save on life insurance.
What is the best life insurance policy for smokers?
Your best bet to save money is to find an insurer that will classify you as a non-smoker based on your smoking habits. For example, if you occasionally light up a cigar or smoke marijuana, many insurers will consider you a non-smoker.
For average cigarette smokers, you’ll have to pay the more expensive smoker rating. However, it still pays to compare life insurance quotes since insurance premiums vary considerably among many insurers. The best life insurance company for smokers will offer you the most affordable coverage.
Are You A Smoker And Need Life Insurance?
As a smoker, life insurance can be more expensive. That’s why you need to work with an insurance advisor who can find you the most affordable coverage from the best life insurance company for smokers.
We work with over a dozen life insurance providers in Canada, so we can get you the best policy for your budget and needs.
Contact us today at 604-928-1628 or info@briansoinsurance.com to find out how we can help you protect your family.
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Very detailed and well written guide! Thank you!
“Our take: Because CPP only offers non-medical policies, its premiums are amongst the highest.”
This is incorrect. CPP does have a conventional/standard issue policy that may not even require paramedical tests. They also are in the middle tier for cost, like Equitable Life, if you compare the cumulative cost for the life of the policy. 40%-60% cheaper compared to other rated policies, plus, they issue policies to the military men. Judging from the failed DNA screening requirements, their recent attempt last Jan. 2017, I can tell which life insurance companies who were against it.
Hi Nelson, thanks for the comment. Yes, CPP does have medically underwritten policies that are comparable in premium with other insurance companies. It can be a great option for some people, because even if they do not qualify for the cheapest plan, they can still fall back on their other plans. For example, the monthly premium for $500k face amount for a 40 year old male smoker for their Preferred Elite term-10 is $77.40, while it is $97.20 for their Preferred term-10.