In some cases, vaping can double the premium of your life insurance plans. If you quit vaping for 12 months at a stretch, you can quality for non-smoking rates. Trust Life can provide you with the best smoking and non-smoking rates in life insurance.
Do life insurance companies consider vaping to be smoking?
This has put the vast majority of life insurance companies in the camp of considering vapers to be traditional smokers. In other words, life insurance companies don’t differentiate between vaping and smoking – it’s all considered to be smoking, and subject to higher premiums.
Is vaping as bad for you as smoking?
Because the jury’s still out on the long-term health effects of vaping, it’s usually classed in the same bracket as smoking. But you could find providers who take a more lenient view. As more research is done, the consensus on vaping might change.
Will using an e-cigarette affect my insurance?
Most insurance providers still class e-cigarette users as smokers, because they are still nicotine products. However, if you’re using a vape liquid that contains no nicotine, your provider may have different rules. It’s important to check the terms of your policy to find out if it could affect your premiums.
Is vaping a smoking cessation product?
Though vaping is often sold as a smoking cessation product – which insurance companies generally favor – it nonetheless has a very high incidence of “dual use” practitioners. That is, people who vape but also continue to smoke traditional cigarettes.
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.
Can you get life insurance if you use nicotine?
While you may qualify for life insurance as a smoker, tobacco chewer, or vaper, you should be prepared to pay a higher premium for your policy. Tobacco use is considered a proven health risk in the life insurance world, so it automatically increases the risk your insurer takes on by providing you with a policy.
What happens if you lie about nicotine on life insurance?
Even if the insurer doesn't discover your nicotine use right away, if it's discovered later, it may be considered a “material misrepresentation” that voids your coverage or results in your family receiving a lower death benefit if something happens to you.
How long does nicotine stay in your blood after vaping?
Most of the nicotine leaves your blood in a few hours, but some amounts can remain for up to three days. Nicotine use can also be detected for much longer: Cotinine, a chemical formed when nicotine is being broken down in the body, is what lab technicians look for when testing if there's nicotine in the blood.
Is vaping considered smoking?
Vaping is not smoking, but some people find vaping works to help them quit because it offers experiences similar to smoking a cigarette. Vaping has a similar hand-to-mouth action as smoking, and it can also be social.
How do life insurance know if you smoke?
How will my life insurance provider know if I am a smoker? When you apply for life insurance cover, you'll be asked if you're a smoker or have ever smoked. You might need to take a medical exam, which will test for a variety of things including nicotine in your system.
How does insurance company know if you smoke?
Insurers insist on medical tests to detect regular smokers and determine the premiums for coverage. Traces of nicotine can be detected in your blood, urine, hair, and saliva. The length of time nicotine stays in your system depends on how often you smoke, age, and general health condition.
What is considered a non smoker for life insurance?
Who qualifies as a nonsmoker? 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.
Does life insurance test for nicotine or cotinine?
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.
How much does tobacco use affect life insurance?
Life insurance rates for smokers Smoking and tobacco use can lead to much higher rates, especially if you're middle-aged. An insurer looks at a 50-year-old smoker differently than a 30-year-old smoker. The younger person has a better chance to quit than a 50-year-old who's smoked for 20 more years.
Is life insurance more expensive if you vape?
Almost all life insurance providers will charge you more if you've vaped or used any form of e-cigarette in the 12 months prior to you taking out cover. In some cases you may have to pay twice as much in premiums to get cover.
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 Do You Get the Best Rates?
While we mentioned that many life insurers will classify you as a tobacco user no matter what nicotine products you use.
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.
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.
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.
How Do Insurance Companies View Vaping?
The practice of vaping is still in its infancy, so exactly how it is treated by life insurance companies is subject to some debate. Until recently, there have been companies that would grant life insurance policies for vapers with better ratings and lower premiums than would be the case for traditional smokers.
How many carcinogens are in vape juice?
While cigarette smoking involves 69 carcinogenic compounds, the vape juices used in vaping contain just five. And since most juices do include at least some nicotine, the FDA believes that there is little difference between vaping and cigarette smoking.
What is vaping smoking?
Vaping is short for vaporizing. Unlike cigarettes, in which you are inhaling the smoke from burning tobacco, vaping involves inhaling steam that is produced from heated liquids. The vaporizer device itself, which looks something like an updated 21st-century version of a tobacco pipe, is often referred to as the electronic cigarette, or simply an e-cigarette.
Is life insurance considered a smoker?
This has put the vast majority of life insurance companies in the camp of considering vapers to be traditional smokers. In other words, life insurance companies don’t differentiate between vaping and smoking – it’s all considered to be smoking, and subject to higher premiums.
Is vaping a smoking cessation program?
At the same time, there are also people in official circles who argue that vaping represents a legitimate smoking cessation program, and should be seen in a more preferential light than tobacco smoking.
Is vaping better than smoking?
The reason vaping is considered safer than cigarette smoking is that you are inhaling water vapor, rather than smoke. In addition, though the juices that are put into e-cigarettes typically do contain nicotine, it’s usually in weaker doses than what is found in cigarettes. And some vape juices contain no nicotine at all.
Is vaping a health hazard?
Even though vaping has generally been shown to be considerably less of a health hazard than cigarette smoking, life insurance companies often link the two as one in the same.
What if I don’t tell an insurance provider that I smoke or vape?
Failing to inform your insurance provider that you smoke or vape is classed as ‘material misrepresentation’.
How does smoking affect life insurance?
Regardless of your age or whether you’ve been a short-term or long-term smoker, being classed as a smoker will make a big difference to how much you pay for life insurance.#N#Statistically, smokers are more at risk of suffering from ill health or dying at a younger age, which means life insurance providers are more likely to have to pay out on a claim. That explains why you’re charged a higher premium if you’re a smoker.#N#It’s estimated that for a 30-year-old smoker, premiums will be around a third higher, while for a 50-year-old it could be up to double the cost of non-smokers of the same age.#N#When working out how much to charge you for life insurance, providers will look at: 1 What you smoke (for example, cigarettes, pipe, e-cigarettes) 2 How many years you’ve smoked 3 Your overall lifestyle and physical fitness 4 If your health has already been affected by smoking
How long do you have to quit smoking before you can take out a non-smoking policy?
Usually, insurance providers will need you to have quit smoking for at least 12 months before they’ll class you as a non-smoker, but check with your provider first. Once you’ve let them know about your new status, you may need to have a medical test and provide a doctor’s report before you can take out a non-smoking policy.
How many people smoke in the UK?
You’re still a smoker as far as an insurance provider is concerned. Around 6.9 million adults in the UK smoke, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
How long do you have to be off nicotine?
Typically you’ll need to have been off all nicotine products for at least 12 months, before you qualify for any cheaper rates. Before offering you a cheaper premium, your provider might want to see evidence that you’ve quit the habit for good.
Is it a smoker if you have tobacco?
It doesn’t matter whether you smoke a packet a day or have the occasional puff on a cigar. You’re still a smoker as far as an insurance provider is concerned.
Can you get life insurance if you are a smoker?
When you apply for life insurance cover, you’ll be asked if you’re a smoker or have ever smoked. You might need to take a medical exam, which will test for a variety of things including nicotine in your system. Your insurance provider may also ask your GP for your medical records (with your consent), which may identify you as a smoker.
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.
