Life insurance for smokers

Read on to establish how to secure the right policy at the best available price today...

Unfortunately, smoking brings with it an increased risk of many medical conditions.

These can include cancer, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and respiratory failure.

Due to this, as a smoker, you’ll be deemed as more high risk than non-smokers and your premiums will be inflated accordingly.

How much your premiums will be increased by will depend on your personal circumstances, such as your age, how long you’ve been smoking and how much you smoke per day.

If you’ve developed any illnesses or conditions as a result of smoking, it’s likely an exclusion for these will be written into your policy.

This means a claim can’t be made based on a cause of death due to this condition or illness.

On very rare occasions, those who’ve smoked for the majority of their life, smoke an excessive amount or have detrimental health as a result of smoking may be declined life cover.

Reassured has helped over 100,000 smokers find the cover they need for the right price.

The threshold at which you’re considered a ‘regular’ smoker will vary between insurers.

Being an occasional smoker, for example if you have the odd cigarette at a celebration or on a night out, may still mean you are considered a smoker generally.

Comparing quotes can be essential in discovering the insurer with the most favourable threshold to match your personal circumstances.

Why not let Reassured save you time and money by comparing quotes?

How much smoking will affect the cost of your life insurance can vary depending on your personal circumstances.

This is because, as well as your smoking status, other factors are taken into account to calculate the cost of your life insurance.

A young smoker is likely to pay less than an older smoker, particularly those over 50.

This highlights the importance of taking out cover sooner rather than later to benefit from a more favourable premium.

But how much does the price of life insurance differ between smokers and non-smokers?

Life insurance for smokers vs. non-smokers

The key difference between life insurance for smokers and non-smokers is the likelihood of being accepted and the cost.

Due to the increased risk, those who smoke can pay more for their monthly premium.

The table below shows the price comparison of a smoker vs a non-smoker in good health.

Quotes are based on a level term life insurance policy for £100,000 of cover over a 20-year policy term:

Comparing quotes is essential in securing the most affordable deal, you could do this yourself or you could enlist the help of an expert - such as Reassured.

Term life insurance provides financial protection for a specified period of time.

If you pass away during this period, a lump sum pay out is made to your loved ones.

Terminal illness cover also comes as standard with all term policies taken out through Reassured, allowing you to make an early claim if you’re diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and predicted to pass away within 12 months.

Term life insurance is likely to be more expensive for smokers due to the increased risk to the insurer.

You have the option to take out term life insurance on level or decreasing terms.

Level term life insurance

Level term life insurance provides a fixed sum assured (pay out amount).

Loved ones can use the pay out to cover large expenses after your passing, such as an interest-only mortgage or other debts, funeral costs and family living costs.

Below shows a price comparison between a smoker and a non-smoker in good health for a level term policy for a 20-year policy term and £100,000 of cover:

Decreasing term life insurance

With decreasing term life insurance, your sum assured reduces over time.

For this reason, it’s ideal for covering a repayment mortgage as your sum assured can reduce in line with your remaining mortgage balance.

Below shows the price comparison between a smoker and a non-smoker in good health for a decreasing term policy over a 20-year policy term and £100,000 of cover:

Use our award-winning broker service to find the most cost-effective term life insurance solution.

An over 50s plan guarantees those aged 50 - 85 acceptance without the need to provide medical information.

No medical exam is required so if you’ve been declined cover before due to poor health (perhaps as a result of smoking), it won’t be taken into account with this cover type.

Some providers may still need to know about your smoking status, but others may not ask.

This means that, as a smoker within this age bracket, it can be possible to arrange cover without being penalised for your smoking habits.

Below shows the price comparison between a smoker and a non-smoker for an over 50s plan and details the level of cover you could secure for this price:

Why not use our award-winning broker service to compare multiple over 50s plans to find one with the most favourable terms?

Critical illness cover is an additional safety net that can be added to a life insurance policy for an additional fee.

Should you be diagnosed with a serious illness (listed within your policy) you’ll be able to make a claim on your life insurance policy and receive an early pay out.

This pay out can be used to help fund medical treatment, make necessary adaptions to your home or pay for carers.

It’s possible to secure critical illness cover as a smoker, however, your policy is likely to have a number of smoking-related exclusions (for example, cancers caused by smoking).

Below is the price comparison for a life insurance policy with and without critical illness cover for a smoker in good health.

These quotes are based on a level term policy with a 20-year policy term and £100,000 cover either for life cover or life and critical illness cover.

Whether you declare yourself as a smoker or non-smoker, insurers have the right to test your smoking status.

During the application process, insurers can request a medical test or a cotinine test (either blood, urine or saliva).

Both a medical exam and cotinine test will be able to inform insurers of your smoking status.

Insurers can also request your medical records from your GP, which are likely to display your smoking status.

If you’re found to have lied, not only could you be declined for life insurance but also be at risk of being charged for insurance fraud.

Always be honest on your life insurance application, it’s still possible to secure an affordable price even if you declare your smoking.

If you’re worried about being declined, we have a special impaired risk team who’ve secured cover for 45% of applicants declined elsewhere.

Smoking will only void your policy if you were untruthful about your habit at the point of application.

If it’s found that you passed away as a result of smoking and insurers have no record of when you started smoking, it could be assumed that you weren’t truthful during the application process.

Typically, you’ll need to have stopped smoking consistently for at least 12 months for insurers to deem you a non-smoker.

However, depending on the provider, smoking can influence your life insurance for up to 5 years.

By comparing quotes you can find the insurer who’ll offer the most favourable terms to those who’ve quit smoking - why not let Reassured help?

Yes, as with smoking, if you’re currently vaping or have done so within the last 12 months you’ll be classified as a smoker by insurers.

Regardless of whether you use nicotine or non-nicotine based liquids, you’re still likely to be classed a smoker and therefore you must declare your habits at the point of application.

You may be asked some more detailed questions about your usage during the application process such has how often you vape and how long you have been using a vape for.

To secure affordable life insurance for vapers, compare quotes for free with Reassured.