Life insurance

[BH2876]

I am quickly approching 40, I have a wife and newborn son and or the first time am looking into getting a life insurance policy.

I started smoking cigars roughly 3 1/2 years ago.About 2 years ago I had went to get a routine physical as I do every few years and told my doctor that I had started smoking cigars. I told him I smoke about 2 a month but around 3 to 4 around the holidays which is only twice a year.

I hardly consider myself a smoker in the traditional sense,when I hear that term I think of the guy who smokes a pack of cigarettes everyday or who smokes cigars on a daily basis. Of course the insurance companies don't see it this way, in there eyes if you smoke at all you are considered a "smoker", which in turn raises your premium sky high.

So here's the problem, I can tell the insurance company I am a non smoker and easily pass a blood nicotine test. But if they request to see my medical records they will see that I told my doctor I smoke cigars.

Have any of you guys faced this situation and what have you done?

[sheppsea]

I would always tell the truth on insurance documents - if the worse does happen and you told the company that you were not what they deem a smoker that might make the insurance invalid, which is obviously the last thing you want

I even emailed the company we have our life insurance with and told them when I started smoking cigars (just in case it is ever a problem!)

[Rye]

Shop around for a company that recognizes this issue. You are, after all, buying a service from them. Don't let them dictate to you

[pbibby]

I agree that you should tell the truth. I did, and admittedly pay a LOT more than I otherwise would have, but to me it is worth the peace of mind knowing that if I croak and they know I smoke a little, that my family will still get paid.

[UpInSmoak]

I am not a life insurance agent nor an attorney. But I do know a bit about the 2 year contestibility rule. Could help a lot of you out there!!!

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080515150108AAw2eLY

[Colt45]

If your goal is to protect your family.......

[dowjr1]

As someone who, as part of my job as a financial advisor, sells insurance I can tell you I don't see a lot of difference on premiums if someone says they smoke the occasional cigar. I'm 45 and my policy was basically unaffected by cigar smoking disclosure. I also am in good shape and had nothing of concern on my blood test. Blood test, weight, etc usually play a bigger role on cost. Always better to be honest on applications. Also, make sure to shop around. Some things are a big deal for one company and not for others.

[Stogieninja]

Prudential was the only one I could find that allowed two a week without a smokers premium. So I went with them.

[DoubleDD]

I am licensed to sell insurance in my state after passing the state exams, even though I have a different full time job. My advice, tell the truth. Only thing it will cost is a little more premium. Go with term. It will be cheaper than whole. If anything selecting the smoking option, it may cost you an extra $20 a month. BTW, most companies have a blood/urine physical with anything over $50k.

[Maplepie]

If your goal is to protect your family.......

disregard your name!!!

[asmartbull]

A 2 yr contesting lit clause is your friend. ...and do some research. ...many companies make a Distinction between tobacco use vs cigarette s

[Zigatoh]

I might be wrong but can't nicotine intake be tested in nails or hair so over a long time not just what's currently in your blood?

[Fosgate]

Former insurance agent here. Always disclose. Purposely Failing to disclose can result in you being cancelled inside the free look period. If it is outside that period, your company may not be able to cancel your policy so when it comes to your passing you may have paid all your premiums but the company is not obligated to pay especially if the cause of death can be linked to smoking. You have the duty to fully disclose and pay the premiums on time and cooperate with requests.

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[Fshaw]

I'm basically the same age (39) and just got a preferred plus rate while disclosing I smoke approx. 1 cigar / week. Get a good broker and as someone mentioned check Prudential, that's who I got the policy through.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BH2876]

Thanks to everyone, your advice has been invaluable.To anyone in the same position I hope this thread has helped you as much as it has helped me. It looks like Prudential is the way to go. "Gentlemen, you may smoke"

[DrunkenMonkey]

I would think it would be in the company's interest to have a distinction in their actuarial setup between cigarette and cigar smokers. Any company that acknowledges the difference in life expectancy between the two groups is going to have a price advantage over companies that don't, and be able to write a lot more policies, right? Or maybe there just aren't enough cigar/pipe smokers to matter to them.

[SaintLuis]

Fraud is bad.

[ogus]

When I applied repeatedly occasional pipe and cigar was considered non smoker

and I got term life preferred NS though overweight

[bugman78629]

I am quickly approching 40, I have a wife and newborn son and or the first time am looking into getting a life insurance policy.

I started smoking cigars roughly 3 1/2 years ago.About 2 years ago I had went to get a routine physical as I do every few years and told my doctor that I had started smoking cigars. I told him I smoke about 2 a month but around 3 to 4 around the holidays which is only twice a year.

I hardly consider myself a smoker in the traditional sense,when I hear that term I think of the guy who smokes a pack of cigarettes everyday or who smokes cigars on a daily basis. Of course the insurance companies don't see it this way, in there eyes if you smoke at all you are considered a "smoker", which in turn raises your premium sky high.

So here's the problem, I can tell the insurance company I am a non smoker and easily pass a blood nicotine test. But if they request to see my medical records they will see that I told my doctor I smoke cigars.

Have any of you guys faced this situation and what have you done?

If you lie on your policy; the insurance provider will not pay upon death(cut and dry) They have closed ALL the loopholes; so my advice to you is to just suck-it-up and pay the premiums.They are NOT stupid and WILL check; before they cut a check

[HarveyBoulevard]

I am 39 and have a 14 month old baby girl. I got a term life policy when she was born. Same problem came up. Dr. records reflect 'smoker' due to cigars. I have a rock star insurance agent and his advice was don't lie. Thinking long term...if there is ONE chance in a million that my insurance would not pay out to my wife and daughter, it is not worth it. I need to know 100% that they are taken care of and the only way to be sure is to be 100% honest on the forms. I am a fat bastard and smoke a cigar a day. I don't want to chance that 'two year' period referenced above (even though it is true).

Best advice is shop around. Some insurance delineates between cigars and cigarette smokers and some do not. Many companies change their policies frequently so the same company may have different rules and rates at different times of the year or from year to year.

[joeypots]

I said I smoked an occasional cigar and before the blood test I didn't smoke for three weeks. I don't smoke more than 9 cigars a month and the test was still positive for me.

[asmartbull]

Always ask for a sample policy.

Usually the free look period is 10 days and that is for your protection.

If death occurs within the first 2 yrs 90% of them will be investigated.

In most cases, everything after the contestibility is paid....to include suicide.

If death occurs within the first 2 yrs and tobacco is found to be a factor...and they WOULD have issued the policy with a higher rate, the difference in premium will be subtracted from the benifit. ......that said, it is not a good idea to get this type of advise on a cigar forum....find a broker....not an agent...

[Fosgate]

Always ask for a sample policy.

Usually the free look period is 10 days and that is for your protection.

If death occurs within the first 2 yrs 90% of them will be investigated.

In most cases, everything after the contestibility is paid....to include suicide.

If death occurs within the first 2 yrs and tobacco is found to be a factor...and they WOULD have issued the policy with a higher rate, the difference in premium will be subtracted from the benifit. ......that said, it is not a good idea to get this type of advise on a cigar forum....find a broker....not an agent...

Good advise here. The policy applications I filled out all the time had a section fro tobacco use, asking type (Cigarrette, Cigar, Pipe, Snoose, Chew), Frequency and amount. Also as stated take the advise of a few proffessionals and not just the advise on this forum. If you elect to do a Universal Life or Variable life product with a term rider just be careful of the rate of return they show you. Some will show a threshold premium based of the return of something high like 8-10% which was crazy high but looked good for a rate of return and low premium to clients. Those are the policies that for some odd reason start to run out of cash value in the future. When I did it in 2004 We would show a conservative rate of return for the cash value of the policy was 4.5% which showed great returns in dry years but you certainly would not get a notice saying there is not enogh cash value to keep the policy in force. Some people claim VUL or UL policies are a rip off but I like whole life for a couple reasons. One I could pick the fund companies my money would go toward like vesting in a mutual fund in accordance to my risk. I could also borrow against a VUL (Variable Universal Life) policy and use the money it it a lot cheaper than a credit card. If I recall my return has been average 6.5% and my borrow rate was 4%. So rather than paying interest to a credit card company my cash value kept increasing like it was never gone so I still made 2.5% on the money I borrowed until I paid it back. Also the premium does not change (uless you pay the minimum to keep the policy in force and or they show your cash value based on a high return rate). Reason the last is important just like my 10yr term policy I wrote on myself is set to renew from $68 I have been paying for the last 10yrs to $170 coming this October and will iincrease every year unless I convert it to whole life or lock it down for another 10yrs. This is one of the problems with term, I also was in better health when I was 30 than I am now so If I lock it into another 10yr term I could face having to pass another medical screening which could make it higher or even unissurable. Thats not to say term is bad, I have both term and whole life. I will probably just cancel my term policy and keep my whole life.

[Skyfall]

I disagree with much that has been said. PM me if you want to get hooked up!

[DrunkenMonkey]

Seems to me like whole life insurance is sort of like if you took normal term life insurance, and add a savings account to it. And when you die the company pays the insurance claim, but keeps your savings (the cash value). I've tried to get agents to explain how a whole life policy could ever be better than just getting a term policy, and investing the difference in premiums in a real investment account that you have total control over (and your family keeps when you die). There may be something I don't understand, but from what I do understand I think that whole life is always a bad deal.