Life insurance
for smokers

You’ll need to declare your smoking status during the application process.

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).

It can also be possible for insurers to request your medical records from your GP (however, your records can only be released with your permission).

Any of the above can confirm your smoking status. If it’s found that you’ve lied you could be declined for life insurance and could risk being charged for insurance fraud.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes, like vaping, most insurers will increase the price of your premium if you’ve regularly used any form of e-cigarette within the last 12 months.

While switching to an e-cigarette or vape shows good intentions of quitting, most still contain nicotine which could have a harmful effect on your health - increasing the risk in the eyes of the insurer.

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.

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.