About 11.5% of American adults smoked cigarettes in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although smoking rates have been in decline for years, that’s almost 29 million people who regularly light up.
Many, if not most, of these people need life insurance for one reason or another. But because smoking is bad for your health, life insurance companies tend to frown on the habit.
Fortunately, you can get life insurance if you smoke. You just won’t qualify for the best rates and might be unable to afford as much coverage as you’d like. You’ll also need to do more research to find life insurance companies willing to work with you.
Check out our list of the best life insurance for smokers.
Best Life Insurance Companies for Smokers
These are the best life insurance companies for smokers and tobacco users. Each makes life insurance coverage available to people who currently use tobacco or have used tobacco in the recent past.
Our pick for the best overall life insurance company for smokers offers the best overall value for our readers.
1. Mutual of Omaha: Best Overall
AM Best Rating: A+
Mutual of Omaha offers one of the best life insurance for smokers policies because it doesn’t automatically consider smoking status for certain policies.
Specifically, if you’re applying for a final expenses policy with a death benefit of up to $40,000, your status as a smoker won’t impact your rates, and you won’t be required to undergo a medical exam. This permanent life insurance policy remains in force until you die or stop making payments.
Smokers can also qualify for term life insurance and higher-benefit permanent life insurance policies with Mutual of Omaha. However, these policies generally require medical exams, and you can expect to pay higher premiums as a smoker or tobacco user.
Additional Features:
- Qualify for final expense coverage up to age 85
- Work with an insurance agent to get more final expense coverage — direct-issued policies top out at $25,000
- Option to convert term life coverage to cash value coverage (whole life insurance)
Pros
- Many policy options
- Financially stable company
- Above-average customer satisfaction
Cons
- Premiums can be high
- Must go through agent to get higher coverage amounts
2. Globe Life Insurance: Best for No Medical Exam
AM Best Rating: A
Globe Life has the best no-medical-exam life insurance coverage for smokers and tobacco users.
You can qualify for up to $100,000 in term life coverage and up to $30,000 in whole life coverage without a medical exam here. There’s also no waiting period to get coverage, which is good if you have known health issues.
Bear in mind that a documented history of smoking or smoking-related health conditions like heart disease and COPD will increase your rates or result in denial of coverage.
Additional Features:
- Affordable monthly premiums as low as $1 (the first month) for $100,000 in coverage for adults in excellent health
- Buy direct online or through an insurance agent
- Apply for specialized types of life insurance, including children’s life insurance, accidental death insurance, and mortgage protection insurance
Pros
- No medical exam is required
- Options to buy a policy online
- Introductory rates for the first month
Cons
- Takes their time paying claims
- May have higher premiums for no medical exam and being a smoker
3. John Hancock: Best for Smokers in Otherwise Good Health
AM Best Rating: A+
John Hancock wants you to be as healthy as possible, even if you smoke. Its free Vitality GO rewards program offers:
- Discounts on fitness wearables
- Discounts on healthy food at the supermarket
- Personalized healthy living advice and content
- Discounts at REI, the outdoor equipment and apparel retailer
Upgrade to Vitality PLUS ($2 per month) to get:
- 25% off your premium when you make qualifying healthy choices
- Even deeper discounts on fitness wearables and healthy foods
- Complimentary membership to Headspace, a meditation app
You can qualify for these benefits as a smoker, although your baseline premium is likely to be higher.
Additional Features:
- Quit Smoking Initiative, which provides smokers with nonsmoker premiums for the first three years of a universal or variable universal life policy
- Potential for extremely high term life limits (up to $65 million)
- Terms between 10 and 30 years
Pros
- Many rider options
- High coverage limits
- Options for discounts and rewards for healthy living
Cons
- No online quotes
- No whole life insurance option
4. Fidelity Life Insurance: Best for Marijuana Users
AM Best Rating: A-
Fidelity Life is unusually friendly to cannabis users who don’t smoke excessively or have records of cannabis-related behaviors that suggest a higher risk of death, such as driving under the influence.
If you’re relatively young and otherwise healthy, you can qualify for up to $1 million in term life insurance at favorable rates with Fidelity Life without taking a medical exam. Even if you’re older, you can qualify for up to $35,000 in guaranteed issue final expenses insurance — meaning you can’t be turned down for tobacco or marijuana use or any other health-related reason.
Additional Features:
- Favorable rates on permanent life insurance coverage for seniors up to age 85
- Up to $150,000 in permanent life insurance coverage for seniors
- Wide range of rider options, including an inflation rider that ensures your benefits keep pace with inflation
Pros
- Options for no medical exam
- Policies available even for seniors
- Many insurance options for seniors
Cons
- No whole life option under 50
- Max whole life policy coverage is $150,000
The information related to Fidelity Life has been collected by Money Crashers and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.
5. Transamerica: Best for Living Benefits
AM Best Rating: A
Transamerica is one of the few life insurance companies that offer no-medical-exam policies to smokers. They even offer coverage up to $2 million. Like any insurance company, the premiums will be higher for smokers, but it’s better than not having any coverage.
Transamerica’s policies are available up to age 80 in five-year increments starting at 10 years. Most policies also have a conversion period that allows you to convert it to a permanent life insurance policy if you wish.
Additional Features:
- Offers final expense coverage up to $50,000 with no medical exam
- Trendsetter LB term life insurance offers living benefits
- Issues policies up to age 80
Pros
- Can obtain quotes online for some policies
- Offers term, whole, and universal life insurance
- No medical exam is required on up to $2 million coverage for some applicants
Cons
- Only has two life insurance plans
- Many plans have age restrictions
6. MassMutual: Best for Cigar Smokers
AM Best Rating: A++
If you’re a cigar smoker, don’t overlook MassMutual as it’s one of the best life insurance for smokers. You may get non-smoker rates if you smoke fewer than 24 cigars a year as long as you pass a urinalysis with no nicotine. While you must disclose that you smoke cigars, your rates won’t be sky-high because of it.
MassMutual offers term and permanent life insurance options, including no medical exam policies, but not for smokers. Their term life insurance has 10, 20, or 30-year options, and their permanent life insurance options each have cash value options.
Additional Features:
- Policy coverage can go as high as $10 million
- Offers a wide range of whole life policies
- Most policies allow riders like waiver of premium, renewable term, and accelerated death benefits
Pros
- Processes claims online
- Offers many coverage options
- Transparent information online
Cons
- You must apply through an agent
- Smokers may be limited to policies up to age 65
Methodology
We use several criteria to evaluate life insurance companies offering tobacco users policies. Each relates in some way to these policies’ eligibility requirements, cost, availability, variety, or overall experience for policyholders.
Criteria for Nonsmoker Status
First, we ask what insurers consider to be “nonsmoker” status. Many insurance companies consider anyone who has been tobacco-free for 12 months or longer to be a nonsmoker, but some are stricter.
Many insurers also distinguish between “never-smokers” and people who smoked at one point in their lives. They reserve the most affordable life insurance rates for never-smokers.
Medical Exam Requirements
A growing number of life insurance companies offer simplified-issue or guaranteed-issue policies. Neither type requires a medical exam as a condition of approval, although simplified-issue applicants can still be denied if their medical histories contain red flags.
No-medical-exam policies are particularly attractive for smokers, who are more likely to have health issues that show up in an exam.
Other Underwriting Requirements
Every life insurance company takes a different approach to underwriting. Some are known as being smoker-friendly — or friendly to people with health issues in general.
Policy Types
Life insurance comes in two main flavors: term life insurance and permanent life insurance, which also includes whole life insurance and universal life insurance. Many of the companies on this list offer term life insurance only, but permanent life insurance is useful for people seeking lifelong coverage and coverage for end-of-life expenses.
All else being equal, we rated companies with more available policy types higher than companies that offer fewer options.
Policy Rates
The life insurance business is competitive, but that doesn’t mean every insurer charges the same rates. All else being equal, smokers should seek out companies known for charging lower premiums.
Policy Terms
Term life insurance policies generally have initial terms ranging from 10 to 30 years. However, some algorithmic underwriters — digital life insurance companies — top out at 20 years. We rated companies that offer more choices for policy terms more highly.
Coverage Amounts
Smokers tend not to qualify for as much term life insurance as nonsmokers because they’re riskier to insure, although there’s no hard upper limit. However, final expense policies, which don’t consider smoking status at all, generally top out at $50,000 or less.
Although the amount of life insurance you need is deeply personal, and not everyone needs the maximum coverage available, we rated companies that offer higher coverage limits to smokers more favorably.
FAQs
You have questions about life insurance for smokers. We have answers.
How Much Does Life Insurance for Smokers Cost?
Life insurance for smokers could be double or triple the cost non-smokers pay, depending on the company. Life insurance companies base their premiums on risk and since smokers are at a much higher risk for serious health issues, the premiums are higher.
If you purchase a fully underwritten life insurance policy, you may get lower rates if your overall health is good. However, if you have chronic health conditions and need a no-medical exam policy, you’ll pay much higher premiums.
What Happens if You Lie About Smoking on Your Life Insurance Application?
The law requires you to tell the truth on your life insurance applications. If you lie about smoking and the insurance company finds out, it could leave your beneficiaries without benefits.
It could also have legal ramifications if the company finds out while you are alive, since it’s against the law to lie on your life insurance applications.
Do Life Insurance Companies Treat Smoking and Other Types of Tobacco Use Differently?
Most insurance companies make no distinction between people who smoke cigarettes and people who use nicotine vape pens. If you habitually inhale nicotine, your insurance company is likely to consider you a smoker and assign your application a higher level of risk.
Many insurance companies view other smoking habits differently, though. Chewing tobacco, cigars, and marijuana are all forms of smoking that each company handles differently. Some companies don’t adjust their rates for these habits, and others rate you as a smoker with higher rates and lower coverage amounts.
How Long Do You Have to Be Tobacco-Free to Qualify for Nonsmoker Rates?
Most insurance companies consider anyone who has not smoked for 12 months to be a nonsmoker. If you have documented tobacco use in your medical record, you’ll want to quit smoking and remain nicotine-free for at least one year before applying for life insurance.
Some insurance companies may further distinguish between nonsmokers who quit and “never-smokers” who never started. The resultant premium difference is less dramatic than that between nonsmokers and smokers, however.
Can You Get a No-Medical-Exam Life Insurance Policy If You Smoke?
Yes, but your options will be limited, and you likely won’t qualify for much coverage. You’ll still be required to answer questions about your medical history, and if those raise any red flags for the insurer, you could be denied.
If you’re set on finding the best policy that doesn’t require a medical exam, consider working with a qualified insurance agent or a life insurance broker.
How to Choose the Best Life Insurance Company for Smokers
The mere fact of your tobacco use won’t disqualify your life insurance application. However, it should be clear by now that you won’t have access to the most favorable policy options. Those are reserved for young “never-smokers” in excellent health.
Look for policies that fit your needs and budget to find the next best thing.
If you’re fairly young and expect to need coverage for a long time, that could mean a 30-year term life policy or whole life policy with a modestly sized death benefit. If you’re older and only need coverage until your mortgage is paid off, or you simply want to ensure that your death isn’t a financial burden for your loved ones, a 10-year term policy or small final expenses policy might be more appropriate.
And if you have the luxury of waiting to apply for life insurance, consider swearing off tobacco for good before you make the jump. After you’ve been tobacco-free for long enough, you could qualify for lower life insurance rates — yet another financial benefit of quitting smoking.
