You’ve seen our all-time low rates for healthy life insurance consumers, and you may be thinking “but I smoke, I can’t afford life insurance.”

I bet you’d be surprised to find out for the price of your daily cup of coffee or that newspaper you pick up on the way to work each day, you could afford substantial term life insurance. Yes, even if you are a smoker! See the rate tables at the bottom of this article to see just how affordable term life insurance can be at InsWeb for the average smoker.

Why can smokers now find affordable rates?
Historically, life insurance companies have gone after the same profile; that of a healthy male. Now (with extreme competition among more and more life insurance companies, distribution methods like the Internet that cut out the middleman, and longer life spans of Americans) term life insurance rates are at record lows, and companies are competing for all classifications of consumers, including smokers. Life insurance companies have realized that smokers comprise around a quarter of the U.S. population, and that large of a group cannot be ignored. However, shopping around for insurance could not be more important for smokers, as underwriting criteria, resulting classification, and rates for smokers can differ drastically from company to company.

When is a consumer considered to be a smoker?
Again, while this can differ from company to company, most people are considered a smoker if company-determined levels of nicotine are found in the urine of the applicant (urine tests are a part of all mandatory paramedical exams a consumer must undergo before a life insurance policy can be issued). While some companies mandate that any amount of nicotine found in the urine classifies a consumer as a smoker, other companies do not count trace amounts of nicotine that can be found from smoking the occasional cigar or tobacco pipe or from chewing tobacco. Some companies may offer consumers who smoke less than 12 cigars a year or occasionally chew tobacco preferred rates.

Among cigarette smokers, some companies differentiate between moderate and heavy usage, and charge moderate or light users less than they would heavy users. Many use the differentiation of “standard” and “preferred” tobacco users. You’ll usually fall into the preferred category if you smoke but are otherwise healthy (with regard to weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol).

What if a consumer lies on their application and says they are not a smoker when they actually are?
It is not a good idea to lie on your application. Not only will recent nicotine use show up in a urine test (oftentimes even if the consumer has refrained from smoking for a short time prior to the exam), but if you do lie on your application, stop smoking for a while to pass the test and then later expire, a life insurance company could refuse to pay your claim (as you misrepresented yourself on your application). When you first buy a policy, there is a set period of time — usually two years — called the contestable period. If you died during that time, your family or heirs could suffer if your insurer finds you misrepresented your smoking. If your death was not related to smoking, it might not matter. But look at it this way: Is it worth a reduced premium to possibly put your survivors through a battle with an insurance company over your benefits? Or looking at it another way, you’re doing the right thing by choosing to protect your family with life insurance, why put your estate in danger by lying, especially when most smokers can still find affordable rates?

What if a smoker eventually quits?
Each company has its own guidelines for how long a consumer must be free of tobacco to qualify for non-smoker rates. Some offer graduated scales, with rates that drop the longer you stay tobacco-free. At many companies, smokers who get insurance and then quit may be able to qualify for non-smoking rates after a certain amount of time passes (the length of time required varies by company, but can be as short as one year). If you have been tobacco-free for a year or longer, it might be a good idea to shop for a new term life insurance policy. Not only could you qualify as a non-smoker and see preferred or standard non-smoker rates, but life insurance prices have been decreasing over the past several years, and you might just be surprised by just how low your rates could be!.

Conclusion.
The bottom line is that nearly everyone can find affordable term life insurance rates when paired up with the right company. Compare rates at InsWeb today and find out just how cheap it can be to protect your family.

Term Life Policy for Current Smoker – 10-Year Term Length.

Male Coverage Amount	Age 30 Monthly Premium	Age 40 Monthly Premium
$100,000	$13.53	$18.60
$250,000	$25.81	$38.49
$500,000	$46.28	$71.65
$1 million	$83.22	$135.73
Female Coverage Amount	Age 30 Monthly Premium	Age 40 Monthly Premium
$100,000	$11.84	$16.02
$250,000	$21.58	$32.04
$500,000	$36.94	$57.85
$1 million	$64.53	$105.47

*Quotes based on a composite of participating carriers, which have at least an A- rating by A.M. Best.

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