Most affordable life insurance companies for 45-year-old smokers

Protective is the cheapest life insurance company for a 45-year-old smoker buying $500,000 in coverage, averaging $1,231 a year for a 20-year term. Foresters Financial has the lowest average for $750,000 at $1,806, and Protective is cheapest again at $1 million at $2,343.

These averages show which companies price smokers the lowest, but your own rate will be different. Each insurer sets your price after reviewing your health, your gender, and how much tobacco you use. Make sure to get a quote from multiple insurers, because the cheapest average won’t be the cheapest offer for every smoker.

Who has the cheapest $500,000 policy for smokers?

Protective has the cheapest $500,000 policy for a 45-year-old smoker, at $1,231 a year on average. Banner Life and Pacific Life are next at $1,274 each.

All of these companies sell the same kind of 20-year term life policy. You pay the same price every year, and if you die during those 20 years, your family gets $500,000 free of income tax. 

These prices are for the regular health class. Insurers treat tobacco as a risk on its own, so a smoker in good health is more likely to get this rate than a preferred one.

Who has the cheapest $750,000 policy for smokers?

Foresters Financial charges a 45-year-old smoker $1,806 a year on average for $750,000 of coverage, the lowest price in our data. Protective is close behind at $1,815.

Going from $500,000 to $750,000 gives you 50% more coverage and raises the average price by 42%. That means each extra dollar of coverage costs you less than the first $500,000 did. If you’re torn between the two amounts, get quotes for both and see whether the bigger policy fits your budget.

Who has the cheapest $1 million policy for smokers?

Protective charges a 45-year-old smoker $2,343 a year on average for $1 million of coverage, the lowest price in our data. Foresters Financial and Banner Life follow at $2,346 and $2,368.

Doubling your coverage from $500,000 to $1 million raises the average price by 83%, so you get twice the protection for less than twice the cost. The top three companies are within $25 of each other — so comparing quotes is essential to make sure you get the best possible rate.

Why does life insurance cost more for smokers?

Life insurance costs more for smokers because insurers set premiums on the odds that you die during the term, and smoking raises those odds. Smoking and secondhand smoke cause more than 480,000 deaths a year in the U.S., nearly one in five deaths.

Smoking also causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease and type 2 diabetes. Each of these raises the chance that an insurer pays a smoker’s claim before the term ends.

Insurers price tobacco use separately from your other health results. A 45-year-old smoker with healthy blood pressure and cholesterol still pays smoker rates, and is more likely to get the regular rate than a preferred one. 

What counts as smoking for life insurance?

Life insurance applications ask about all tobacco and nicotine use, not just cigarettes. Each insurer decides how it classifies vapes, chewing tobacco, nicotine gum, an occasional cigar and marijuana. That means one company may give you a better rate class than another for the same habit.

List every product you use on your application, then ask your agent how each insurer you’re quoting treats it. Your answers stay truthful, which protects your family’s payout, and you find the company that prices your habits lowest.

How do insurers know if you smoke?

Life insurers find out you smoke from your application, your medical records and, at some companies, a lab test. Every application asks about tobacco and nicotine use. Insurers that require a medical exam test your blood, urine or saliva for cotinine, a substance your body makes when it breaks down nicotine.

Many insurers also check your prescription history and medical records, where a doctor’s note about tobacco use shows up.

Hiding tobacco use puts your family’s payout at risk. If the insurer finds a false answer during the contestability period, which usually runs the first two years, it can deny the claim and your family loses the death benefit you paid for. 

How much can smokers save by shopping around?

A 45-year-old smoker buying $500,000 of coverage pays 57% less at the cheapest company than at the most expensive one in our data. That’s $1,231 a year compared with $2,888, and nothing about you or the policy changes between the two prices. These steps keep your quotes comparable, so the lowest price you find is one you can actually get.

• Ask an agent to run your tobacco and health history past several companies before you apply. Each insurer treats smokers differently, and this gets you a read from each one without a formal application on your record.
• Quote the exact coverage amount you want. Pacific Life ties for second at $500,000 and ranks ninth at $750,000, so the order changes with the amount.
• Use the same 20-year term on every quote. A shorter term prices lower, so mixing term lengths points you to a company that isn’t the cheapest for the policy you want.
• Expect membership with Foresters Financial. Foresters Financial is a fraternal benefit society, so buying a policy there also makes you a member. The term coverage works the same as at any other company.

How can smokers lower their life insurance rate?

Quitting tobacco moves you out of smoker pricing altogether, and a policy you buy as a smoker today doesn’t keep you at smoker rates for good. These steps cut what you pay while you quit and after.

• Ask how long you have to stay tobacco-free to get nonsmoker rates. Each insurer sets its own waiting period. Knowing it gives you the date you can ask for a lower price.
• Ask for a reconsideration once you qualify. Some insurers reprice your existing policy at nonsmoker rates after reviewing your health again, and others require a new application. Either way, you stop paying smoker rates for the rest of your coverage.
• Ask whether you qualify for a preferred smoker rate. Some insurers offer a better smoker class to tobacco users whose blood pressure, cholesterol and weight sit in a healthy range. That class costs less than the regular rates in this article.

Methodology

Insure.com analyzed 20-year term life insurance quotes from Compulife, the quoting software life insurance agents use to compare rates across companies. Quotes are for a 45-year-old smoker at $500,000, $750,000 and $1 million in coverage.

Rates are each company’s average annual premium at its regular smoker health class. Companies appear under the brand they market under, and each table shows the 10 lowest averages at that coverage amount. Your own rate depends on your health, your tobacco history and each insurer’s review of your application. 

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking.

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