Provides your loved ones with a cash pay out if you pass away during the policy term.
Life insurance with no medical questions that guarantees a cash pay out to your loved ones.
Helps to replace a percentage of your income if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury.
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Finding the best life insurance as a smoker doesn’t have to be a daunting task.
While the price you pay will be increased due to your habits, that isn’t to say you can’t secure affordable cover.
At Reassured we can help you find the best life insurance for smokers from our panel of leading UK insurers.
Our FREE life insurance quote comparison service is FCA-regulated and award-winning.
Simply get in touch today for your no-obligation quotes.
Yes, the good news is, it’s possible to secure life insurance if you’re a smoker.
One in eight people in the UK smoke (12.9%), meaning insurers are used to providing cover to smokers[1].
Whether you’re a cigarette smoker, cigar smoker, use vapes/e-cigarettes or are an ex-smoker, there’s life insurance options available for you.
However, you may experience ‘loaded’ (increased) premiums due to the higher risk you pose to the insurer.
Comparing quotes can help you to find cost-effective cover for your personal circumstances. Why not let Reassured help you do this, free of charge?
Yes, if you’re a smoker, you’ll need to declare this during the application process.
Your smoking status is required by insurers to allow them to calculate the cost of your monthly life insurance premium.
Typically, this will be posed as a simple yes or no question.
If you answer yes, it’s likely you’ll be required to provide further information about your smoking habits. For example:
Always be open and honest about your smoking habits when applying for life insurance. Rest assured it’s unlikely you’ll be declined simply for smoking.
At Reassured we can compare multiple quotes to help you find the best life insurance companies for smokers from our panel of insurers.
Regardless of whether you declare yourself as a smoker or not, insurers have the right to test your smoking status.
This could be through a medical exam or a cotinine test (either blood, urine or saliva).
Any tests required will be arranged and paid for by the insurer.
It can also be possible for insurers to request your medical records, with your permission, from your GP.
If permission isn’t granted, your application won’t be able to continue as insurers won’t have the information they need to underwrite your policy.
Smoking can impact the price you pay for life insurance (see below) due to the increased risk of developing certain medical conditions.
Unfortunately, smoking is linked to many conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure.
How much your premiums will be increased by will depend on your personal circumstances, such as your age and how long you’ve been smoking.
Reassured has helped over 100,000 smokers find the cover they need for an affordable price.
We do this by taking your personal circumstances into consideration, comparing multiple quotes and presenting you with our most favourable deals.
Life insurance can help to financially protect your loved ones after your passing.
Smoking can bring with it an increased likelihood of certain medical conditions - highlighting the importance of having the right protection in place should the worst happen.
A life insurance pay out can help your loved ones to continue their current lifestyle without needing to make drastic cutbacks (at what’s already a difficult time).
However, the time period can vary between insurers and could be as long as five years.
Comparing quotes can help you find the insurer who offers the most favourable terms for smokers.
At Reassured we can compare quotes from leading UK insurers and smaller specialists to help you find the best deal we can offer. Simply get in touch for your free quotes.
The best life insurance policy for smokers will be the policy which meets your needs and is at an affordable price.
As a smoker, you’ll have the same policy options available to you as those who don’t smoke. These include:
There are also additional policies which can be taken out to provide a greater level of protection, including critical illness cover and income protection:
Critical illness cover for smokers
Income protection for smokers
Comparing multiple life insurance policies for smokers can help you find a suitable policy for your personal circumstances.
Why not use the fee-free life insurance comparison service offered by Reassured?
The cost of life insurance for smokers will vary depending on your personal circumstances.
As well as your smoking status, insurers will take the following information into consideration:
This information will allow insurers to assess the level of risk you pose, and your life insurance premium will be calculated accordingly.
The table below shows life insurance rates for smokers. Quotes are based on an applicant in good health for a level term life insurance policy with a 20-year term and £100,000 of cover:
| Age |
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | £4.44 | £5.44 | £6.02 |
| 25 | £5.45 | £6.46 | £5.95 |
| 30 | £7.74 | £8.18 | £8.95 |
| 35 | £11.20 | £11.61 | £13.38 |
| 40 | £16.80 | £17.87 | £20.37 |
| 45 | £27.32 | £28.96 | £33.82 |
| 50 | £46.34 | £47.48 | £55.34 |
As you can see from the table, the price you pay for life insurance as a smoker can vary between insurers - highlighting the importance of comparing multiple quotes.
By comparing quotes through Reassured, we help you find great life insurance rates for smokers from our panel of insurers.
How much extra you pay for life insurance as a smoker will depend on your smoking habits, such as how long you’ve been smoking and how often you smoke.
The details you provide during the application process will allow insurance to accurately assess your level of risk and calculate an appropriate premium price.
The table below shows the cost of life insurance for smokers vs non-smokers.
Quotes are based on an applicant in good health for a level term life insurance policy, with a 20-year term, for £100,000 of cover:
Age | Price per month for a smoker | Price per month for a non-smoker | Price increase |
|---|---|---|---|
20 | £4.31 | £3.50 | +23% |
25 | £5.29 | £3.57 | +48% |
30 | £7.48 | £4.46 | +68% |
35 | £10.58 | £5.98 | +77% |
40 | £16.31 | £8.23 | +99% |
45 | £26.53 | £11.86 | +124% |
50 | £44.99 | £18.63 | +141% |
As you can see from the table, you could pay significantly more for life insurance as a smoker.
It’s important to note that the older you are, the more you’ll pay for your premiums.
To lock in the cheapest premium, over the lifetime of your policy, consider taking out cover sooner rather than later.
Comparing quotes is essential in finding an affordable deal, you could do this yourself or you could enlist the help of an expert (such as Reassured).
Yes, if you’re currently using a vape/e-cigarette or have regularly done so within the last 12 months, you’ll be classed as a smoker.
In recent years, the popularity of vaping has reached record levels. As of 2023, it was reported that there were 4.7 million people in the UK using a vape/e-cigarette[3].
Regardless of whether you use nicotine or non-nicotine-based liquids, you’re still likely to be classed as a smoker.
Therefore, you must declare your habits at the point of application.
You may also be asked additional questions, such as how long you’ve been using a vape and how frequently you use it.
To secure affordable life insurance for vapers, compare quotes for free with Reassured.
Lying about smoking on your life insurance application could invalidate your policy.
Withholding or providing false information on a life insurance application is known as ‘non-disclosure’ (which is a form of insurance fraud).
Lying about smoking could result in one of the following outcomes (depending on the provider)
When it comes to life insurance, honesty is always the best policy.
It can still be possible to secure affordable cover as a smoker, so always provide accurate information during the application.
Does quitting smoking make life insurance cheaper?
Yes, it’s likely that you can secure a more favourable premium if you quit smoking.
However, you’ll need to have stopped smoking (as well as all substitutes) and be nicotine/tobacco free for a specified period of time before being treated as a non-smoker.
Therefore, quitting smoking might not have an immediate effect on your policy. The longer you’ve quit smoking, the more you’re likely to benefit from cheaper premiums.
Some insurers may reduce the premiums of your current policy to reward your new lifestyle, but not all insurers will do this.
It could be beneficial to compare quotes for a new policy to reflect your new circumstances (although your new smoking status won’t be the only factor taken into consideration).
If you’ve given up smoking, why not use our award-winning broker service to compare new life insurance quotes?
How long do you have to quit smoking to be considered a non-smoker?
Most commonly you’ll need to have quit smoking (including all replacement products) for at least 12 months.
However, this time frame can vary between different insurers, with some requiring you to be nicotine free for up to 5 years.
By comparing quotes you can find affordable life cover for smokers who’ve quit - why not let Reassured help?
What happens if I start smoking after I’ve taken a policy out?
If you start smoking during the term of your life insurance policy, it’s not essential to tell your insurer. However, it could be in your best interest to do so.
If you pass away (regardless of whether it’s a result of smoking or not), insurers have the right to investigate your cause of death to obtain more information.
If it’s not documented when you started smoking, the pay out for your loved ones could be delayed while your insurer tries to establish whether you were a smoker at the point of application.
For this reason, it’s best to inform your insurer of your new smoking habits so that it can be documented.
Will I be classified as a smoker if I smoke occasionally?
Being an occasional smoker (such as having a cigarette once in a while at a celebration or night out) may still mean you’re considered a smoker.
However, the threshold at which you’re considered a ‘regular’ smoker will vary between insurers.
For this reason, it’s important to gather quotes from multiple insurers to see who’ll offer the most favourable terms.
At Reassured we can help you compare quotes from a panel of leading insurers, saving you time and money.
Will I need to take a medical exam?
In most cases, it’s unlikely that you’ll be asked to undergo a medical exam when applying for life insurance as a smoker.
However, insurers do have the right to request you undergo a medical during the application process if it’s required.
For example, they may request a medical exam to see if smoking has had any effects on your health.
Ultimately, it will depend on the insurer and their underwriting process.
If you’re asked to undergo a medical examination, it will be paid for by the insurer and arranged for a time and date that suits you.
How will a joint policy be affected by smoking?
A joint life insurance policy is often a great way to save money on a policy, but smoking may have an adverse effect if one party is a smoker and the other isn’t.
A joint life insurance policy covers two lives simultaneously, meaning there’s only one application form to complete and just one premium to pay.
Due to this, if one party declares themself as a smoker, the other will also be penalised with an inflated premium.
In this scenario, it could be beneficial to compare quotes for a joint policy vs two single polices to see which option could be right for you.
Do cigar smokers pay more life for life insurance?
Yes, life insurance for cigar smokers will be treated the same as cigarette smokers.
Using any product that contains tobacco or nicotine will class you as a smoker in the eyes of insurers.
Why not compare life insurance for cigar smokers through Reassured?
What about life insurance for marijuana smokers?
If you’re a regular cannabis smoker, you’ll need to disclose this during the application process.
Smoking cannabis can fall under ‘recreational drug use’ when applying for life insurance.
However, as smoking cannabis can have similar health affects to smoking cigarettes, some insurers will offer life insurance for cannabis smokers on the same terms they offer cigarette smokers.
Generally, it will depend on the insurer’s stance on recreational drug use.
You can find out more information about life insurance and drug use by reading our comprehensive guide.
Does life insurance pay out if you smoke?
Yes, as long as all the information you provided at the point of information was correct, your policy can pay out to your loved ones.
Smoking shouldn’t prevent your policy from paying out unless you provided false details or withheld information about your smoking habits.
This would be classed as non-disclosure, which is a form of insurance fraud, and it would invalidate your policy.
Will my life insurance be affected if I am an ex-smoker?
If you’ve quit smoking and have kept it up, you may not be penalised for your old habits.
If you’ve been free of cigarettes for a long period of time and have no long-lasting health problems as a result of smoking, you may be able to secure cover on standard terms.
However, if you were a smoker for a large portion of your life, insurers may still deem you as high risk as there could be some impact on your health.
Ultimately, it will depend on the circumstances of your old habits. Comparing quotes can help you to find suitable cover.
If you’re wanting to quit smoking, there are a number of resources you can access for help and support, including:
At Reassured we can find you our best life insurance for smokers quotes.
We can help you obtain quotes from some of the UK’s best insurers and provide you with all the information you need to make a fully informed decision.
We can also guide you through the application process, answer any questions you may have and decode any industry jargon.
Our service is award-winning, FCA-regulated and we don’t charge a fee for our quotes.
So why not get in touch today? We’ve helped over 100,000 UK smokers secure the cover they need.
[1] https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/smoking-statistics/
[2] https://www.sunlife.co.uk/funeral-costs/
[3] https://ash.org.uk/uploads/Use-of-e-cigarettes-among-adults-in-Great-Britain-2023.pdf
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