Do I have to tell my life insurance provider that I smoke?

While it may be painful to watch life insurance rates rise when you check “yes” for smoking, being transparent helps ensure your policy isn’t thrown out as fraudulent after a lifetime of payments.

Why do insurers charge smokers higher rates?

Smoking is linked to a lower life expectancy and a host of health issues, like respiratory problems and lung cancer. There’s a higher chance your insurer will have to pay out your policy, so they compensate for that risk by raising rates for smokers.

As a smoker, you’ll never be able to reach an insurer’s “preferred” rate class — but it’s important not to lie on your application.

How will my life insurance provider know if I smoke?

When you apply for traditional life insurance, your insurer will likely require a medical exam.

During the exam, a medical professional will take bodily samples to test for nicotine or cotinine — a nicotine byproduct which stays in your blood after nicotine has left your system. Urine tests are the most common, which can detect nicotine from up to a week ago. But they may also check your saliva, hair, or blood, which can trace nicotine that’s been in your system for weeks or longer.

Along with cigarettes, the nicotine test can reveal whether you use chewing tobacco, nicotine gum, nicotine patches and other smoking cessation products.

In other words, if you claim to be a nonsmoker in your application, the medical exam will confirm or deny it.

How to apply for life insurance

What if I quit cold turkey before the exam?

If you stop smoking several weeks before your medical exam, there’s a chance your nicotine test will come back negative.

Either way, it’s essential to be honest about the date you quit smoking. If you stopped recently, you may not be able to access the lowest rates. But if you lie about your smoking habits and your insurer later finds out, you run the risk of denying your loved ones the death benefit.

What happens if I’m caught lying on my application?

Though it may be tempting to bend the truth to get a cheaper policy, lying on a life insurance application is considered fraud. It’s in your best interest to confront the reality of life insurance for smokers – higher rates. If you’re caught lying:

• Your insurer may not pay out your policy. If you die and the life insurance company finds out you were a regular smoker through an autopsy or other investigation, it could deny your beneficiaries the death benefit — which means they won’t receive any money.
• The payout could be delayed. If you pass away within the first two years of your policy — a.k.a. the contestability period — your insurer has the right to investigate the claim. They may delay the death benefit or deny it altogether.
• You may need to pay a surcharge. If your insurer finds out that you’re a smoker while you’re alive, they can either cancel your coverage or charge you for the higher rate you should’ve been paying all along.
• You might be fined or sued. Misrepresenting your smoking habits on an application is classified as fraud. Possible consequences include being fined or even sued by the insurance company.

Do I have to disclose if I start smoking after getting life insurance?

Yes. While it’s not technically considered fraudulent since you weren’t smoking at the time of application, smoking at all within the duration of the policy puts your benefits at risk. If you die of a smoking-related illness and it’s revealed in an autopsy, the insurer can void your claim, and your beneficiaries won’t get anything.

What if I stop smoking after signing up?

Depending on your insurer, you may need to prove you’ve been nicotine-free for 1 to 2 years before asking for a rate reconsideration. Your insurer will ask you to take another medical exam, and if it comes back clean, they could lower your premium.

The other option is shopping around for a new policy. Once you’re no longer classified as a smoker, rates will become more competitive.

Compare life insurance companies

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Name	Product	Types of Insurance	Coverage Range	Issue Ages	Medical Exam Required	Province Availability
PolicyMe Life Insurance		Term Life, Critical Illness	$100,000 - $5,000,000	18 - 75	No	AB, BC, MB, NS, ON, PEI, SK, NL, YT, NT, NU	Get fast and affordable term life insurance. Personalize your policy details and get an estimate price within seconds. No phone call, meeting or paperwork required. Get an instant decision.	Get a quote More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
RBC Life Insurance		Term Life	$50,000 - $1,000,000	18 - 70	No	AB, NS, ON, PEI	Select from two unique RBC term life insurance plans to get flexible and affordable coverage that suits your lifestyle and budget. Get a free quote through Walnut.	Get a quote More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
PolicyAdvisor		Whole Life, Term Life, Universal, No Medical	$25,000 - $25,000,000	18 - 75	No	AB, BC, MB, ON	PolicyAdvisor is a digital life insurance brokerage that has partnerships with 20 insurers in Canada.	Get a quote More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Are e-cigarettes treated the same as traditional tobacco products?

E-cigarettes are viewed similarly to tobacco products in the eyes of many life insurance companies. Not only do they contain varying amounts nicotine, but recent studies have also found toxins in e-cigarette vapor that may cause lung damage. So naturally, life insurance companies are skeptical when it comes to e-cigarette usage.

Expect higher premiums in most cases. If the application doesn’t specifically ask about e-cigarette or vaping use, it’s a good idea to mention it anyways. It might show up on your medical exam results and you don’t want the insurance company to think you’re trying to deceive them.

Bottom line

Finding life insurance can be frustrating if you’re a smoker, but protecting the ones you love in the long run means being honest and upfront about your habits. Still, it’s a free market and you don’t have to settle for the first quote you receive. Carefully comparing policies can help you find the most competitive rates in light of your situation.

Frequently asked questions

• What is a tobacco surcharge?

  A tobacco surcharge is the increased amount you’ll have to pay for life insurance if you’re a smoker.

• Can I get life insurance without a medical exam?

  Yes. It’s possible to buy no medical exam life insurance, typically meant for older people, that doesn’t require a health screening. But these types of policies tend to be expensive and may not be worth it when compared to a term policy for smokers.

• Do other types of tobacco use affect life insurance rates?

  Generally, yes. Since there are health risks associated with any use of tobacco products — including chewing tobacco, cigars and snuff — most insurance providers will hike premiums for any tobacco usage that’s discovered in the medical exam.

  Remember, the exam checks for nicotine in your blood, regardless of how it got there.