Life insurance for smokers is usually far more expensive than it is for those who don’t smoke. Term life insurance which usually offers cheaper premiums than whole life insurance is also extremely expensive for smokers. In fact the premiums for term life insurance for smokers are 2 or sometimes 3 times the premium for non smokers. To get cheap insurance life smoker should quit smoking.
Smoker life insurance is just the same as any other policy. The only difference comes in the initial questionnaire where the applicant of the policy has to provide habits regarding smoking habits. Most insurance providers consider a policy applicant a smoker if he or she has used tobacco products over the last 12 months. However, the way a smoker is defined varies from one company to another. It is interesting to note, however, that most insurance providers rarely make any distinction between a casual smoker smoking a cigarette or two per day and a heavy smoker, who smokes more than a pack every day.
The premiums are higher for life insurance offered to a smoker because they are considered to be riskier for the insurance provider. This is because a huge percentage of smokers develop lung cancer and the claims made by smokers could go really high. Given the large probability of smokers contracting smoking related diseases like lung cancer, the premiums for their policies are high too. In fact, insurance providers attribute the same risk to both the casual and the excessive smoker.
If you are a smoker, you would need to shop for the right insurance policy more than anyone else. This is because the rules for a smoker and the premiums offered to a smoker are not etched on stone. They vary from one insurance provider to another. While one insurance provider can consider you a smoker and charge high premium even if you smoke one cigarette a year, another insurance provider could be lenient with you. Whether you are a casual or a heavy smoker, your aim should be to get the policy that does you the greatest justice. If you smoke occasionally, you wouldn’t want to pay the same premium as someone who smokes excessively. Otherwise, it would turn out that you are paying for someone else’s claims more often than not.
Another important benefit of shopping and requesting for free quotes is that while some insurance providers decide brackets based on whether you smoke or not, a few insurance providers have policies based on whether you have any existing medical conditions. In other words, you can get away with a cheaper policy if you don’t seem to have any health related issues at the time of applying for the policy.
There is also an important difference between smokers and ex-smokers which only some insurance providers recognize. If you have quit smoking 6 months before, then you might get a better premium than someone who is still smoking. At the same time, you may not get premiums as low as someone who hasn’t been a smoker at any point of his or her life. Therefore, there are plenty of parameters involved for a smoker which justify extensive shopping for the right insurance policy.
There are some insurance providers which are considered lenient towards smokers. It should be noted that the underwriting criteria is different for different insurance providers. Applicants should make it a point not to lie about their smoking habits in the past even if they have quit smoking at the time of filling the application. Incorrect details can be identified and benefits of the insurance policy discontinued, which wouldn’t augur well for the policy holder. Some insurance providers do make exceptions for occasional smokers. Similarly, those who smoke cigars only in social occasions are treated more favorably than those who smoke cigarettes on a regular basis.