Life Insurance and Quitting Smoking

Even if you only qualify for smokers life insurance quotes now, you can eventually get the best premiums after you quit. Although you may have to wait several years before your new rates kick in, your premiums will ultimately fall. Read on for more information on quitting smoking and how it affects smokers life insurance rates.

Why Quit

If you've already solicited a few smokers life insurance quotes, you probably are well aware of how much smokers get charged for life insurance coverage. On average, smokers pay two to three times as much for life insurance than nonsmokers. On top of everything else, smoking causes serious medical conditions, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic pneumonia, and other problems that will also raise your smokers life insurance rates. If you quit smoking, you will reduce your likelihood of developing these illnesses and classify as a nonsmoker, both of which will save you money on life insurance premiums.

Qualifying as a Nonsmoker

Life insurers tend to have stricter definitions of nonsmokers because they want to minimize the possibility that the policyholder will begin smoking again. For this reason, you will not be able to qualify for anything but smokers life insurance quotes until you have abstained from all tobacco use for at least 12 months. Once you've hit the one-year mark, you may be able to qualify for standard life insurance rates. Your life insurance rates will continue to improve the longer you remain a nonsmoker. At three years smoke-free, you can qualify for preferred rates, and at five years smoke-free, you can qualify for preferred plus rates if you are otherwise healthy.

What to Do Once You Quit

After you have been quit for one year, let your life insurer know. You can then request non smoker life insurance quotes. Typically, your life insurer will ask you to take another medical exam before they will offer you better premiums. Your insurer will test your urine again to make sure that you're smoke-free, and ask you questions about the length of your quit period. After the medical exam, you might qualify for even lower rates because it's likely that your blood pressure and other important indicators of health will have improved. If your current life insurer is unwilling to offer you lower rates, consider soliciting other companies for non smoker quotes on life insurance. You will probably qualify for much more competitive rates from most life insurers.