Vaping and Life Insurance [2025 guide]

Q: How do insurers test for nicotine?

Insurers can test for nicotine in the following ways: Cotinine test – you could be asked for a saliva swab or urine test to check for cotinine(cotinine is the chemical found in tobacco. It remains in the body longer than nicotine). Medical exam - if you’re asked to do a medical exam as part of your life insurance application you’ll have to go through various medical checks, such as blood tests, blood pressure and blood sugar tests, as well as nicotine/cotinine tests. Medical records – rather than requesting a medical exam, insurers could request permission to view your medical records , which could include details about smoking/vaping habits.

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Vaping and life insurance

Is vaping classed as smoking for life insurance?
Why does vaping affect life insurance?
Why do vapers need life insurance?
What is the best life insurance for vapers?
How much is life insurance for vapers?
How long will I need to stop vaping for life insurance?
Does nicotine void life insurance?
How do insurers test for nicotine?
What if you start vaping after getting life insurance?
Vaping help and support

Life insurance and vaping [key points]

Currently, 5.6 million adults in the UK vape. This is 11% of the adult population^[1]
When applying for life insurance, vapers will be classed as smokers due to the unknown health risks
Many people who vape have actually never smoked but they will still be charged smokers rates due to their vaping habits
Insurers consider you a smoker if you smoke cigarettes, cigars, use vapes/e-cigarettes or any other replacements (such as patches and gum)
The impact that vaping has on your application will depend on your personal circumstances

Is vaping classed as smoking for life insurance?

Yes, vaping is classed as smoking on a life insurance application.

Many people use vapes as a way to stop smoking, but insurers will actually need you to be free of cigarettes, vapes and all replacements before they consider you as a non-smoker.

This means that your vaping habits could impact the price you pay for a policy. Your personal circumstances, such as how often you vape and how long you’ve been vaping will be taken into consideration.

Our fee-free life insurance comparison can provide you with our best quotes for vapers.

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Why does vaping affect life insurance?

While vaping is often seen as a ‘safer’ or ‘better’ alternative to smoking, it can still be risky for your health. For this reason, insurers class it the same as smoking.

Vaping is still a relatively new phenomenon, meaning there isn’t much research available into the long-term effect it can have on your health.

What we do know about vaping is that it’s linked to health issues such as asthma, lung damage and inflammation. If you’re using nicotine-based liquids, it can also be highly addictive.

With most insurers even using non-nicotine-based liquids will class you as a smoker due to the lack of research into the long-term risks.

Why do vapers need life insurance?

Life insurance can help to ease financial stress for your loved ones after your passing.

It pays out a lump sum to your loved ones if you pass away while the policy is active.

Losing a loved one is emotionally devastating, but it can also bring about financial uncertainty.

A life insurance pay out could help with:

Keeping a roof over their heads
Covering the cost of your funeral
Maintaining their current lifestyle
Covering additional childcare hours
Providing an inheritance

If you’ve got a family that depends on you financially, life insurance can provide you with peace of mind that they’ll be taken care of when you’re no longer around.

How much life insurance do you need?

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What is the best life insurance for vapers?

The best life insurance, regardless of whether you vape or not, will be the policy that offers an affordable rate and meets your needs.

Popular life insurance options include:

Level term life insurance

Level term life insurance provides cover for a specified term (for example, 40 years). If you pass away during this time, a pay out is made.

Your cover amount stays the same throughout the policy term, for this reason it’s often used to help cover an interest only mortgage and/or family living costs.

Fixed pay out amount
Cover for a set term
You’ll need to give details about your vaping habits and medical information
Premiums could be impacted by vaping
Pays out if you pass away during the term

Decreasing term life insurance

Decreasing term life insurance provides cover for a specified term. If you pass away during this time, a pay out is made.

Your cover amount will reduce throughout the policy term, making it a popular choice for helping to protect a repayment mortgage (as your cover amount can reduce in line with your mortgage balance).

Decreasing pay out amount
Cover for a set term
You’ll need to give details about your vaping habits and medical information
Premiums could be impacted by vaping
Pays out if you pass away during the term

Whole of life insurance

Whole of life insurance provides cover for the rest of your life, paying out when you pass away (not if you pass away).

As cover lasts for life, the pay out is commonly left as an inheritance or used to help cover inheritance tax bills (when the policy is written in trust) and/or funeral costs.

Fixed pay out amount
Cover for the rest of your life
You’ll need to give details about your vaping habits and medical information
Premiums could be impacted by vaping
Pays out when you pass away

Over 50s life insurance

Over 50s life insurance (or an over 50s plan) provides cover for UK residents aged 50 – 85, offering guaranteed acceptance.

Once in place, cover lasts for life and a pay out is made when you pass away. It’s a popular choice for helping to cover funeral costs or leaving a small inheritance.

Fixed pay out amount
Cover for the rest of your life
You won’t need to give medical information, but some insurers may need details about your vaping
Premiums could be impacted by vaping
Pays out when you pass away

At Reassured we can help you compare the above policies (plus other cover options) to help you find the right cover for your circumstances.

Our service is fee-free and FCA regulated.

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How much is life insurance for vapers?

The cost of life insurance for vapers will depend on personal circumstances.

During the application process, you’ll need to give the following details:

Age
Health (any pre-existing medical conditions you have)
Smoking (or vaping) status
Occupation
Lifestyle (details such as your drinking habits and hobbies)
Policy type
Policy term
Cover amount

The details listed above help to give insurers an idea of your level of risk and your monthly life insurance premium price will be calculated accordingly.

You’ll also need to give details about your vaping habits, such as whether you’ve smoked in the past, how long you’ve been vaping, how often you vape and whether you have any health issues due to smoking/vaping.

If you’re someone who only vapes on occasion, there might a minimal impact to the price you pay. Whereas if you have a long history of smoking/vaping and your health have been impacted, you could face more severe price increases.

The table below shows the price a vaper/smoker could pay compared to a non-vaper/smoker.

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	Price per month for a vaper/smoker	Price per month for a non-smoker
20	£5.00	£3.50
25	£6.19	£4.16
30	£8.55	£5.18
35	£11.59	£6.94
40	£18.65	£9.82
45	£31.36	£14.19
50	£50.97	£21.34

As you can see from the table, vaping can increase the price you pay for a policy – particularly as you get older.

How long will I need to stop vaping for life insurance?

If you’d like to benefit from non-smoker (or non-vaper) rates, you’ll need to have been free of vapes and all replacements for at least 12 months.

However, this period of time can vary between insurers so it could be longer depending on the underwriting processes used.

Ultimately the longer you haven’t been using vapes, the better in the eyes of insurers.

Does nicotine void life insurance?

Nicotine will only void life insurance if you declare that you don’t smoke or vape during the application process, but this information is found to be untrue.

For example, nicotine could be found through a medical exam during the application process or after your passing if your death is investigated.

Lying on a life insurance application is known as ‘non-disclosure’ and it’s a form of insurance fraud that could lead to legal action and/or a pay out being withheld when the time comes.

How do insurers test for nicotine?

Insurers can test for nicotine in the following ways:

Cotinine test – you could be asked for a saliva swab or urine test to check for cotinine(cotinine is the chemical found in tobacco. It remains in the body longer than nicotine).
Medical exam - if you’re asked to do a medical exam as part of your life insurance application you’ll have to go through various medical checks, such as blood tests, blood pressure and blood sugar tests, as well as nicotine/cotinine tests.
Medical records – rather than requesting a medical exam, insurers could request permission to view your medical records, which could include details about smoking/vaping habits.

What if you start vaping after getting life insurance?

If you start vaping after you take out a policy, you don’t have to tell your insurer.

While you’re not legally obligated to tell your insurer of any changes that happen after you take a policy out, it can be beneficial to do so. This is to avoid any confusion or delays after your passing.

Tips on how to get the cheapest vaping life insurance

Cut down or kick the habit - if you’ve been thinking about quitting, now could be the perfect time. Most insurers will need you to have stopped vaping for at least 12 months before they’ll class you as a non-smoker/vaper. Alternatively, simply cutting back on how often you vape could help you save some pennies.
Lead a healthy lifestyle– being ‘low-risk’ in other areas of your life, such as maintaining a healthy weight and drinking in moderation, could allow to achieve cheaper premiums.
Take out a policy while you’re young and in good health – you can benefit from your cheapest premiums while you’re young. Particularly, if you vape, your premiums can increase significantly as you age.
Compare multiple quotes– each insurer will view vaping differently and will charge different prices. It’s important to explore all your options to find a great deal.

Vaping help and support

Whether you want to quit vaping or you’re looking to start vaping to ween yourself from cigarettes, there are a range of help and support services available:

Compare life insurance for vapers

It’s important for those who vape to compare as many quotes as possible to ensure they’re getting a good deal.

Each insurer will judge the risk involved with smoking differently, so prices could vary significantly.

At Reassured we can give you all the information you need to know and help you compare quotes from some of the UK’s best insurers.

Our service is:

Personalised - we’ll find you the best options for your circumstances from our panel of insurers
Fee free– you won’t be charged for the quotes we provide; there’s also no obligation to take out a policy through us
Award-winning – over our 15 years in the industry our service and our team have won many awards. Why not find out more about our history?
FCA-regulated – we’re regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so you’re in safe hands

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