So you are a smoker and finally decided to see if life insurance is both attainable and affordable. Like most people, you probably already heard the horror stories about not being able to get coverage or paying astronomical rates. While the higher rates are not a myth, there is a way to buy life insurance for smokers and that is affordable. In this article, we will be discussing what it means to be a smoker, the different kinds of smokers, some sample quotes, and we will end this article with some tips for smokers. The following are some key points from this article;
- First and foremost we should acknowledge who is a smoker and who isn’t. The last thing you want to do is tell your agent that “yes” you are a smoker but you failed to share that you smoke a cigar once every three months on your guys night and then you get bumped with a smoker rate!
- Another way of getting better rates is quitting smoking altogether. But be careful because the carriers will want to make sure you have been tobacco free for more than 12 months. The good news is that even if you applied for life insurance as a smoker and quit down the line most companies will reduce your rates to that of a non-smoker after a certain time.
- Unfortunately, there are only a few companies who give occasional recreational smokers a standard non-smoker’s rate. This is because most companies think of marijuana smoking resulting the same as nicotine and therefore giving the user a higher risk of any lung related problem and can slim down your chances of getting approved.
- If you are a 50-year old healthy woman who is a smoker and you need $500,000 for 20-years you are looking at $337.75 monthly with TransAmerica. If you are a 40-year old healthy male who is a smoker and you need $500,000 for 20-years you are looking at $134.31 monthly with Banner.
- When applying for life insurance and being a smoker, it is absolutely crucial that you are upfront about it. The reason is simple, lying about not being a smoker is considered insurance fraud. If something was to happen to you and the company found out that you lied, they will not pay out the death benefit. On top of that, the life insurance companies do check medical records and share information through the MIB. So if one company knows you are a smoker most likely all of them do.
- We will help you find the best company based on your usage and take care of the entire application process from beginning to the end. Did we forget to mention that our services are completely FREE? Because they are super FREE! So if you have been turned down or got a smoker rate from your previous life insurance application give us a call at 1-888-492-1967
Who is considered a smoker?
First and foremost we should acknowledge who is a smoker and who isn’t. The last thing you want to do is tell your agent that “yes” you are a smoker but you failed to share that you smoke a cigar once every three months on your guys night and then you get bumped with a smoker rate! Anyone who has used tobacco products within the last 12 to 24 months is considered a smoker. This means that whether you smoke cigarettes, cigars or e-cigarettes most companies will offer you smoker rates. Even folks who chew tobacco are not exempt from smoker rates. There is a way to get non-smoker rates for some situations and lower monthly payments, so read on.
Life Insurance for Cigarette Smokers
If you rarely light up a cigarette in social gathering there are one or two companies that will not penalize you. Now for all others expect to pay much higher rates unless you really shop around. The key to getting affordable life insurance rates for smokers is to let the companies compete. In other words, make sure you use an agency like ours, so you can compare all the carriers. So how do you get this done, well it’s quite simple. Just use one of our quote engines and select yes for smoker status. The first few companies that come back with the lowest quotes are the ones most competitive for tobacco users.
Another way of getting better rates is quitting smoking altogether. But be careful because the carriers will want to make sure you have been tobacco free for more than 12 months. The good news is that even if you applied for life insurance as a smoker and quit down the line most companies will reduce your rates to that of a non-smoker after a certain time.
Cigar and Electronic Cigarette Smokers
If your choice of tobacco falls into one of these categories, you can get non-smoker rates. For cigar smoking, depending on the number of cigars you smoke annually a handful of companies will offer non-smoker rates. Electronic cigarette users will typically get smoker rates with all companies but one. With new research, there is some evidence coming out that e-cigarettes are a much better alternative than regular cigarettes. This is due to the fact that you’re not actually inhaling any smoke.
Would like to see if you can get non-smoker rates? Well then contact one of our agents and we would love to help you.
Life insurance and Smoking weed
Life Insurance companies are really good at evaluating risk and will look at all the factors before they decide to issue you a policy. Most life insurers will rate you as a smoker if you used marijuana which can increase your rates by 60% and make your life insurance purchase go from necessity to a luxury. The good news is that there are few companies that will give you non-smoker rates with mild to moderate marijuana usage. We are sure that this will change over time and more companies will differentiate marijuana with cigarette use.
Life Insurance Quotes for Smokers
Finally, the part we have all been waiting for! Here are a couple of examples of life insurance coverage from some of the best companies for smokers:
- If you are a 50-year old healthy male who is a smoker and you need $500,000 for 30-years you are looking at $515.81 monthly with Nationwide.
- If you are a 50-year old healthy woman who is a smoker and you need $500,000 for 20-years you are looking at $337.75 monthly with TransAmerica.
- If you are a 40-year old healthy male who is a smoker and you need $500,000 for 20-years you are looking at $134.31 monthly with Banner.
- If you are a 30-year old healthy male who is a smoker and you need $500,000 for 20-years you are looking at $77.00 monthly with SBLI.
Why is life insurance more expensive for smokers?
If you haven’t yet noticed take another peek at the quotes we provided for you above, you will see that the younger you are the better your monthly payments look. Just so you can get an idea of the difference between smoker and non-smoker rates here are three quick examples of non-smoker rates.
- A 50-year old healthy male who is a non-smoker and needs $500,000 for 20-years is looking at $81.35 monthly with SBLI.
- A 40-year old healthy female who is a non-smoker and needs $500,000 for 20-years is looking at $30.45 monthly with SBLI.
- A 30-year old healthy male who is a non-smoker and needs $500,000 for 20-years is looking at $20.88 monthly with SBLI.
As you can see there’s a huge gap between smoker and non-smoker rates. Why? Because smoking is responsible for some serious ailments and smokers tend to live shorter lives so therefore it is a higher risk to the carriers.
Quick Tips for Smokers
When applying for life insurance and being a smoker, it is absolutely crucial that you are upfront about it. The reason is simple, lying about not being a smoker is considered insurance fraud. If something was to happen to you and the company found out that you lied, they will not pay out the death benefit. On top of that, the life insurance companies do check medical records and share information through the MIB. So if one company knows you are a smoker most likely all of them do. It is also important to note that besides your smoking status the companies will use your overall health, age, family history and other factors to determine your rate. At the end of the day, regardless of how important life insurance may be, it is vital to get a plan you can afford. A couple ways of achieving this is by reducing the coverage protection amount or term length. It is always better to have some life insurance in force than none.
The best tip we can give you is to quit smoking which we said earlier in the article. It’s easier said than done right? I agree! However, you saw for yourself the difference in premiums for smokers and non-smokers and if that wasn’t a motivation to stop smoking I don’t know what will! The best part about life insurance companies is that they give chances to better yourself. If you decide to quit smoking after you have bought your life insurance policy with smoker rates you can get a re-quote by them for a non-smoker rate if you haven’t smoked in two years which is great because that means you will be saving money in the near future!
Work with us!
The next step for you would be to complete an application with a company of your choice, set up your medical exam and allow three to five weeks for the underwriting process. Once the company reviews your application they will come back with a final approval and if you’re happy with the rate, we will issue your policy and you’ll get it in the mail within 5 to 10 days. The entire application process can go very smoothly if you work with the right agency like ours. We will help you find the best company based on your usage and take care of the entire application process from beginning to the end. Did we forget to mention that our services are completely FREE? Because they are super crazy FREE! So if you have been turned down or got a smoker rate from your previous life insurance application give us a call at 1-888-492-1967 or request an application from one of our quote engines on our website. Welcome to InsureChance!
