LIFE INSURANCE FOR CIGAR SMOKERS
It’s a known fact that cigarette smokers pay more for their life insurance. A common question from life insurance applicants is whether or not an occasional cigar smoker is classified with tobacco rates by the life insurance company. The answer is that it depends.
First of all, many life insurance carriers will request the completion of a paramedical exam after you have submitted your initial application. During this paramedical exam, your blood and urine will be tested. You need to be honest about your smoker status on the application, but this throws many cigar smokers off since they don’t actually consider themselves tobacco users. If you don’t use any other type of tobacco and only smoke cigars every so often, there are certain life insurance carriers that will give you non-smoker plus rates. When compared with the premium rates that a smoker would pay, non-smoker plus rates are very appealing.
To get started, you want to talk with your life insurance agent about the best company for you. It’s not recommended that you apply for whatever carrier shows up the cheapest on your life insurance quote. The reason is because this carrier may not view cigar smoking in the most favorable way. You want to target your life insurance application to a carrier who gives you the most affordable and fair premium. In general, carriers that classify occasional cigar users as non-smokers want to see that your use of cigars is limited to about once per month. Although you’re going to be honest on your application and likely explained somewhere during the process that you’re a cigar smoker, it’s not recommended that you use these types of products prior to your paramedical exam. Otherwise, your paramedical exam may show that you have higher rates of nicotine in your body.
