Can Cigar Smokers Get Life Insurance?
The following is a guest post about cigar smokers receiving life insurance:
I Enjoy a Cigar, how does this Affect my Life Insurance?
Enjoying a cigar can have more than one meaning; it can refer to someone smoking one at family celebrations or it can refer to someone who regularly smokes two or three cigars a day.
So, can cigar smokers get life insurance? It is important to point out that cigars are classed as a smoking, nicotine based product when it comes to decisions on the granting of insurance policies. This is understandable when you consider that a single premium quality cigar can have the same tobacco content as an entire pack of cigarettes. This does not necessarily mean that a cigar smoker will always be penalized by having to pay increased life insurance premiums.
Can Cigar Smokers Get Life Insurance? – So how do insurers decide?
As with all tobacco and nicotine based products, tests are conducted on an applicant’s blood and urine if they are asked to attend a medical. These tests ascertain whether there is any cotinine in the body which indicates the intake of nicotine. In order to qualify for the best insurance rates it is usual for insurers to expect that there be no trace of cotinine, read more at Suncorp.
If this is the case, insurers can make further decisions depending on the frequency of usage of cigars. Many insurers allow the best insurance rates to people who smoke cigars very occasionally; as part of a celebration for instance. Generally, very occasionally is defined as approximately 12 cigars in a year, although there have been examples of insurers giving decent premium rates to people who smoke as many as one cigar a week.
It is always best to be honest about smoking cigars when you apply for insurance as there are always ways for the truth to be gleaned, including medical records. If you are honest, depending on what your definition of ‘enjoying a cigar’ is, you may still quality for an affordable rate of insurance. Not for people who are vaping, it could be a different story and you just might get savings (Learn more about portable vaping at www.davincivaporizer.com) because you’re vaping as opposed to doing conventional smoking. You will have to talk to your health insurance about it.
Can Cigar Smokers Get Life Insurance? – All regular smokers are treated the same
If you smoke cigars on a regular basis (more than 12 a year), you will more often than not be treated exactly the same as any smoker and have to pay increased premiums; usually approximately four times the amount of a basic premium.
Some people are surprised by this as there is a false belief that cigars are less harmful than cigarettes, which is not the case. As with any tobacco smoke, the chemicals in cigar smoke can cause cancer. Smoking cigars is also linked to increased risk of both lung and heart disease. It is also linked to oral and dental disease. Furthermore, the chemicals in cigar smoke are equally as dangerous as those in cigarette smoke.
If you are a regular smoker of cigars you will be expected to pay the high life insurance premiums that are associated with increased risk to the insurers. Cigars are however a traditional part of celebration and many insurers recognize this fact. They do not penalize an individual just for joining in with a celebration; assuming that no trace cotinine is found during a medical.
Great post, Derek! I know a lot of cigar smokers (ahem…my boyfriend) and I doubt they’ve considered all of this. I’ve never been much of a smoker.
Addison @ Cashville Skyline recently posted…Quarter Two: My Second Net Worth Overshare
Addison,
I’m like you – I’ve never had to even worry about this. Good to know that if some folks only smoke cigars once a month, they can still qualify for lower rates.
I know many cigar smokers. It’s a shame that many of them blow off life insurance because they think they’re uninsurable. It’s one of those situations where they’ll probably insure you… for a (higher) price. Every so often I try to remind them about buying life insurance. Hopefully one day it will sink in.
John McKinney recently posted…What is an affordable term life insurance rate?
John,
Great point – just about anyone can be insured… for a price! It just may not be practical for the person being insured to afford the premium if their health is too poor.