Can I Get a Discount on My Life Insurance Premiums if I'm Healthy and Don't Smoke?

If you're looking for ways to save money on life insurance, it's important to understand how health and lifestyle choices can affect your premiums. Abstaining from smoking cigarettes for at least 12 months before applying for coverage can help you get non-smoking r

Can I Get a Discount on My Life Insurance Premiums if I'm Healthy and Don't Smoke?

In general, applicants must have abstained from smoking cigarettes for at least 12 months before applying for life insurance to be eligible for non-smoking rates at most companies. To get the best rates, you'll need to have been smoke-free for about five years. If you receive group health coverage through an employer, your answers could be verified through a routine medical exam. During this test, nicotine consumption can be tested using a blood or urine sample.

The difference in premiums is even greater if you smoke. Smokers, on average, pay 218% higher premiums on life insurance policies compared to applicants who don't smoke. Investing in a policy when you're young can pay off, and baby boomers are feeling the effects of not buying life insurance until later in life. And you may need to take out a life insurance policy to protect your family while you continue to use nicotine.

If you're under 65 and your health is excellent and there are no other problems that could affect your rates (such as a poor driving record, a low credit score, or risky hobbies or lifestyle choices), Ethos may be able to offer you more affordable term coverage than many other companies. Your life insurance can be vital for your spouse to pay for a mortgage, cover the expenses of raising a child, or even paying for your funeral. If you plan to quit smoking in the future, you may pay much less over the life of your policy with John Hancock. While many insurance companies place cigar smokers in the same class as cigarette smokers, MassMutual recognizes the difference between smoking an occasional cigar and smoking a pack a day.

How Much Life Insurance Should I Buy?

Consider what your family will have to pay when you're gone when you decide how much life insurance to buy. It's also a good idea to request a quote with Banner Life Insurance, which offered similar prices on fixed-term policies.

Can I Reduce My Premiums if I Quit Smoking?

Depending on your insurer, you can usually reduce your life insurance premium if you stop smoking permanently, usually by not using nicotine for at least a year or more.

These metrics are determined by each individual life insurance provider, but they only vary slightly by industry.

What Are the Benefits of Shopping Online for Life Insurance?

The life insurance shopping experience is designed to be completely online, meaning that you don't need to contact an agent to get a quote or request one. Lying about your tobacco use, or about any lifestyle choices, on a life insurance application or to the doctor during a life insurance medical exam is considered insurance fraud. In addition, more than half (53%) of baby boomers (adults between 54 and 7 years old) do not currently have life insurance because they think that policy premiums are too high. If you're looking for ways to save money on life insurance, it's important to understand how health and lifestyle choices can affect your premiums.

Abstaining from smoking cigarettes for at least 12 months before applying for coverage can help you get non-smoking rates at most companies. Investing in a policy when you're young can pay off and quitting smoking permanently can reduce your premiums over the life of your policy.

Pattie Fritzler
Pattie Fritzler

Hipster-friendly coffee ninja. Infuriatingly humble zombie advocate. Hipster-friendly tv evangelist. Infuriatingly humble reader. Hipster-friendly twitter evangelist.