Yes. If you have vaped in the last 12 months, your life insurance rate will be affected. The costs will be dependent on different factors such as your age, coverage amount, policy type and current health. A general rule of thumb is that your premium will essentially be doubled.
Why do insurance companies charge more for vaping than smoking?
It's for these reasons that insurers assess people who vape in the same way as those who smoke cigarettes, and charge them the same insurance rates.
Is vaping a safer alternative to smoking?
Vaping – that's the 'smoking' of electronic cigarettes – has been marketed as a safer alternative to smoking, with many cigarette smokers making the switch for perceived health benefits.
What is the prognosis of vaping?
"The prognosis of vaping is similar to smoking traditional tobacco, nicotine or nicotine substitution products. The important causes of mortality and morbidity associated with vaping consumption are cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory disorders."
Can I review my life insurance premiums if I smoke?
If the customer was issued a Life Insurance policy with smoker rates, there is an opportunity to review their premiums six months after giving up smoking, provided that they produce a negative cotinine test." (Cotinine, the main breakdown product from nicotine, can be detected in the body for up to three months after ingestion.
Can insurance companies tell if you vape?
For most life insurance carriers, you'll find that the required medical exam to qualify for a policy can detect nicotine in your urine. This will most likely put you in the same boat as traditional cigarette smokers. Which means that the best non-smoker rate classes will probably not be in the cards if you're vaping.
Does nicotine affect life insurance?
Smokers can buy life insurance but should be prepared for much higher rates than non-smokers. That's because smoking impacts your life expectancy. You could be denied a life insurance policy if you lie on the application about your smoking habits.
What kind of nicotine does life insurance test for?
During this medical exam, it's likely you'll be given a nicotine test. This may be a urine test, blood test, or saliva test. It's also possible to do a hair test for some substances. Nicotine will likely show up in your hair longer than a urine, saliva, or blood sample.
Does life insurance always test nicotine?
Do Life Insurance Companies Test for Nicotine? Yes, life insurance companies will test for nicotine. It's a standard test for any life insurance policy since smokers pose a higher risk of premature death than non-smokers.
How long do you have to quit smoking to get life insurance?
Typically applicants must have refrained from smoking cigarettes for at least 12 months before applying for life insurance to qualify for nonsmoker rates at most companies. To get the best rates, you'll need to have been smoke-free for about five years.
Is my life insurance void if I start smoking?
No. If you're honest about smoking on your life insurance application, smoking will not void a life insurance policy. It's important to be truthful about your smoking history on your application and during your medical exam.
How does life insurance know if u smoke?
Most life insurance policies require a physical exam before your policy is written. You'll be given a nicotine test to confirm your tobacco usage details. Note that any health issues associated with smoking may also factor into your health exam and, ultimately, your life insurance rate.
How does being a smoker affect life insurance?
Smoking doesn't preclude you from getting life insurance, but it can make your rates significantly more expensive, especially if you're also in poor health. But some life insurance companies are friendlier to smokers than others.
A Brief History of Vaping
The vape and e-cigarette versions that we know today were the brainchild of a Chinese pharmacist named Hon Lik. A heavy smoker, Hon Lik used to smoke up to 3 packs a day. To help him stop his addiction, he created a device in 2003 that could utilize vapor to mimic cigarette smoke.
Key Facts About Vaping
Let’s take a quick look at some of the most important facts about e-cigarette and vape use.
What does Vaping Do To Your Body?
Recent research results link vaping to certain illnesses. But what and how exactly does vaping affect certain parts of the body? This section aims to give you an overview of its specific effects.
How Life Insurance Companies Assess Vape Users
Life insurance companies use a health rating table when underwriting applications. It works like a general guideline wherein your premiums will be determined depending on where you rank in the health class table. In general, it’s made up of the following 5 categories:
How Vaping Affects Life Insurance Rates and How to Find the Right Policy
If you vape or use e-cigarettes on a regularly and want life insurance, you should declare it on your application. Being truthful about your vaping habits will let you avoid potential headaches in the future. Such as, having your claim denied or getting the policy forfeited.
How Vaping Affects Life Insurance Rates
So how exactly can you get cheaper or more reasonable premiums if you are vaping? Well, there’s really no way around it. If you want the absolute lowest premiums you can get—you have to kick the habit.
How They Determine Your Life Insurance Classification
When you are applying for life insurance, you will go through a process that is referred to as underwriting, in which you will be given an insurance health classification.
Vaping Considered Smoking for Insurance Purposes
Whether you believe that vaping is better for you than smoking, insurance companies will still charge you a considerably higher rate in order to obtain life insurance.
What about Marijuana?
For the purposes of a health insurance rating, insurance companies view marijuana smokers the same way that they view tobacco smokers, even if you “vape” your marijuana. Unfortunately, vaping or smoking THC or marijuana based compounds will lead to more expensive life insurance even if you are otherwise healthy and the rate of use is infrequent.
Does vaping cause seizures?
Did you know that nicotine poisoning has been associated with an increased risk of seizures? While there’s no direct evidence that vaping causes seizures, the various cases noted by the FDA could not determine whether a particular brand or type of e-cigarette was implicated. However, what is known is that one of the e-liquid pods (around 0.7 mL) advertised and sold by the ultra-popular Juul, contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.
Is smoking a cigarette bad for you?
The harm caused by tobacco smoking comes mainly from the burning of the cigarette and the smoke is bad for the cells in your lungs. Breathing vapor, on the other hand, while thought to be much less harmful, can still cause wheezing which can be a sign of emphysema, heart failure, cancer, and chronic lung disease.
Do I Have To Tell My Provider I Smoke?
Many insurance applicants may be tempted to withhold the truth about their smoking and vaping habits because of how it impacts their premiums and coverage. However, honesty is the best policy for all tobacco users.
How E-Cigarettes Affect Life Insurance
Aside from potential long-term health consequences, one of the unintended effects of vaping is how it impacts your life insurance coverage. Luckily, most life insurance companies haven’t standardized the way they price their policies for vapers. This means that there may be some leeway on your policy, depending on what you smoke.
Policy Rates For Vapers
Regardless of which policy you end up choosing, your whole life or term life insurance rates are subject to a few considerations. This largely depends on your medical exam results and general tobacco use.
How Do I Improve My Policy Rates?
Smoking or vaping is one of the main things that can inflate your life insurance fees, but there are still ways to get the coverage and death benefit you need:
Conclusion
Vaping has become increasingly popular because of its reputation of being the “healthier alternative” to traditional cigarettes. Despite this, insurance providers tend to prince vapers’ policy rates similarly to smoker rates. However, there are alternatives and exceptions that every vaper can consider undertaking to achieve better premiums.
