Smokers have been attacked from all directions in recent years but there was a time when the best carriages on trains were reserved for smokers. There were smoking lounges in the best hotels. People who smoked were not just cool, they were the pace setters. There were even spittoons in public places where you could spit out your tobacco after chewing it. This is not the case anymore as today’s smokers are increasingly being treated as outcasts. Why has this dramatic change in attitude occurred? It was found that smokers died earlier than those who didn’t smoke and life insurance companies were one of the first organisations to act on this information.

Life insurance companies survive on the basis of being able to forecast accurately how long the majority of their policy holders will live. They base their premiums on this assumption and if they get it wrong their profitability falls. The only way they can get back on top again is to raise their premiums. However, to the benefit of non-smokers, when it was universally accepted that smokers generally died earlier than non-smokers, it was only the smokers who were made to pay for the extra risk they were carrying.

This is why it is so important that a smoker can not be allowed to fraudulently state they don’t smoke when applying for life insurance when in actual fact they do. If an over-abundance of policy holders did this the future viability of the insurance company itself would be challenged. If that happened thousands of policy holders, if not hundreds of thousands of policy holders, would run the risk of not having their beneficiaries paid should they die while legitimately covered.

Specific Questions on Whether You Smoke or Don’t Smoke Must be Answered Truthfully

In an effort to be as precise as they can, life insurance companies use specific questions to ascertain if policy applicants should be classified as non-smokers or smokers. To be defined as a smoker means that you habitually smoke cigarettes, cigars or chew tobacco. If you wear a nicotine patch in an attempt to quit smoking you can also still be defined as a smoker. Therefore, if you fall into this category and are looking to take out life insurance cover, it is imperative that you beat the habit first and if possible leave it for at least 12 months before applying, to prove you no longer smoke. If you have successfully done this you could be then classified as a non-smoker and your premium will not be loaded.

One of the questions you will be asked when applying for life insurance cover is, ‘Have you used tobacco in any form in the last 12 months?’ If you can’t honestly answer this question with a ‘No’ you will be classified as a smoker and you will have to pay a higher premium than a person wanting the same level of cover but who doesn’t smoke. It doesn’t really matter if you are an occasional smoker or a regular smoker, all that matters to a life insurance company is that you have smoked during the previous year. To them the health risk remains the same, and they are the ones who do the figures.

Insurance companies determine an applicant’s health risk by placing them in a particular category. These categories differ between companies but they are generally similar and range from the low risk Preferred Plus to the higher risk Standard. Although a smoker might be classified as Preferred Plus, the highest low risk category, because of his or her age and other health factors, he or she will still have to pay an increased premium before being accepted as a policy holder.

Smokers Will Still Obtain Life Insurance But at an Increased Cost

Although being a smoker will not prevent you from getting life insurance cover you will have to pay more for that cover than you would if you didn’t smoke. This is where insurance companies differ between themselves and it will pay you to shop around before settling on an offer. The amount of premium you will have to pay will depend on;

  • The amount of life insurance you need
  • The type of insurance you are looking for
  • Your age at the time of making the application
  • And of course your general health.

Being a smoker will be an added cost to all of these other factors.

Never be Untruthful in Your Answers

Never lie to an insurance company in order to lower your premium. If you do it is considered as a serious fraud and not treated lightly. If you were a smoker but successfully hid the fact and were successful in obtaining cover at a non-smoker’s rate, and died during the term of your cover, the fact you smoked could come up during a coronial inquest, or during an examination of your medical history. This being the case the claim on your policy by your beneficiaries would be declined and your plans for their future dashed.

Even if you refused to accept a policy offered to you by one life insurance company because of the increased premium after you truthfully informed them that you smoked and went to another, keeping your habit to yourself in your next application, you would be caught out and possibly charged for attempted fraud. All life insurance companies can view your medical records once they are on file. These and your previous medical examination results are kept on file for seven years.

About the Author: This article was written by Will from Life Insurance Finder.

Other Related Posts:

Tagged with: • •

Filed under: Insurance

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!