Does your health and lifestyle affect life insurance?
Yes, especially if you smoke or drink a lot of alcohol.
Nicotine use and life insurance
Smoking, vaping and life insurance.
Does smoking or vaping impact life insurance?
Yes, smoking and vaping can significantly increase the cost of life insurance.
Insurers treat nicotine use as one of the highest risk factors because it’s linked to a range of serious conditions like heart disease, cancer and respiratory illness.
As a result, smokers and vapers usually pay much higher premiums than non-smokers.
📣 Did you know? Up to half
How do life insurers define a smoker?
Most life insurers will class you as a smoker if you’ve used any nicotine products in the last 12 months, including:
cigarettes
cigars or pipes
e-cigarettes or vapes
nicotine patches, gum or other replacement products
This means even occasional use can affect your premium.
Does vaping count as smoking for life insurance?
Yes, in most cases insurers treat vaping the same as smoking.
While vaping is often marketed as a less harmful alternative to smoking, it still carries health risks, and as a newer product its long-term effects on health are still uncertain.
Life insurers therefore tend to take a cautious approach to vaping.
How much more do smokers and vapers pay for life insurance?
Smokers and vapers usually pay significantly more for life insurance. The life insurer Vitality says nicotine users generally pay 1.4-2x the price that non-smokers do.
The exact increase depends on:
how much you smoke or vape
your age and overall health
any related medical conditions
💡Top tip: Ex-smokers generally get cheaper rates than current smokers. Prices often start dropping after a year smoke-free, and eventually reach similar rates to non-smokers.
Smoking increases life cover:
40-100%
According to Vitality data.
Will my life insurer know if I smoke or vape?
Life insurers can ask to verify your smoking status at both the application and the claim stage. They cannot access your medical records without consent, but they can make providing this information a condition of them accepting a life insurance application or claim.
At the application stage:
When you apply for a policy, life insurers will check whether you smoke or vape. They usually do this by asking questions about your nicotine use, such as:
During the last 5 years, have you smoked any cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, a pipe, vaped or used nicotine replacements?
During the last 12 months, have you smoked regularly, occasionally, or never?
How many cigarettes do you smoke on average each day?
Less commonly, insurers could ask you for a report from your GP, access to relevant medical information, or to take a medical or nicotine test.
At the claims stage:
If you die during the policy term and your beneficiaries make a claim, your life insurer can investigate before paying out.
Only a small percentage of claims are investigated, but one reason insurers will do this is if there is evidence that you gave inaccurate or incomplete information when you applied, and that this affected the cover you were offered.
For example, if you said you had never smoked but later died of lung cancer, the insurer may check your medical history to verify the information you provided.
If the insurer finds that you failed to disclose smoking or vaping when asked, it could reduce or deny the claim.
How many life insurance policies pay out?
96.7% ^
Nicotine use might mean paying more for your cover, but as long as you’ve answered questions accurately, you can have peace of mind that your family will almost always receive the financial support your life insurance is there to provide.
What happens if I lie about smoking or vaping on my life insurance?
If you deliberately give false or misleading information about your smoking or vaping, your insurer may treat this as deliberate or reckless misrepresentation.
Your insurer could:
Void your policy - Your insurer may treat the policy as if it never existed and refuse to pay a claim. You may also lose the premiums you've already paid.
Deny your claim - If the misrepresentation is discovered when a claim is made, your insurer may refuse to pay out, even if the cause of death was unrelated to smoking or vaping.
Deliberately giving false information can therefore leave you without valid cover and your loved ones without the payout you intended for them.
What happens if I make a mistake about my smoking or vaping history?
If you realise you made a mistake about your smoking or vaping history when you applied for your life insurance you should contact your insurer to correct it.
The most likely outcome is they will adjust your premiums or policy terms to reflect your adjusted risk assessment, although they could cancel the policy if they would not have offered you cover had they known this information.
If a mistake is only discovered during the claims stage, the insurer will usually make a decision based on what they would have done if you'd provided the correct information when you applied. So, depending on the mistake, they could:
Pay your claim in full - if the mistake would not have affected your cover.
Reduce the payout - if they would have charged you a higher premium.
Deny the claim - if they would not have offered you cover at all.
The outcome will depend on the circumstances, including what information was incorrect and how it would have affected the insurer's decision.
Can a rejected life insurance claim be challenged?
Yes. If the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy think a life insurance claim has been unfairly rejected, they can challenge the insurer’s decision.
The first step is to contact the insurer directly, but if an agreement cannot be reached the complaint can be taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for an independent review.
What questions about smoking do insurers ask?
When you apply for life insurance, you’ll be asked a few questions about your smoking or vaping habits to help insurers assess your risk.
These usually include:
whether you currently smoke or vape
how often you use nicotine products
what type of products you use, such as cigarettes, cigars or e-cigarettes
when you last used nicotine
whether you’ve ever smoked in the past
Some insurers may also ask about related health issues or request medical information.
Some benefits of quitting smoking or vaping include:
Save money:
£2,500 ^
how much the average smoker could save each year by quitting.
Life expectancy recovers:
10 years^
after quitting smoking life expectancy returns to a similar level to never-smokers.
Better mental health:
90%^
felt less stressed, anxious or depressed after quitting e-cigarettes.
How much money could I save by quitting smoking or vaping?
Use our tool to calculate how much extra cash you could have by kicking your smoking or vaping habit.
Five tips for quitting smoking or vaping
Thinking about cutting out nicotine? Here are some practical tips to help you get started and stay on track.
Identify your triggers - Notice when you’re most likely to smoke, such as after meals or when stressed. Plan alternatives to nicotine for these moments.
Use stop-smoking support - Nicotine replacement products, support groups and medical services such as your GP can all improve your chances of quitting successfully.
Change your routines - Swap habits linked to smoking, like having a cigarette with coffee, for something else like a short walk or a different drink.
Remove temptations - Get rid of cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays from your home or car to reduce the urge to smoke.
Take it one day at a time - Quitting doesn’t have to be perfect. If you slip up, focus on your progress and start again the next day rather than giving up altogether.
Can life insurance help me quit smoking?
Yes, some life insurance policies can support you in making healthier lifestyle changes, by offering added benefits such as health advice, wellbeing support, and rewards for healthy habits. These programmes are designed to encourage gradual, sustainable improvements over time.
For example, Vitality life insurance found that 47%
If you’re looking to make positive changes, choosing a policy with built-in rewards can help you get more value from your life insurance than just financial protection.
Our expert says…
Smoking remains one of the biggest lifestyle factors affecting life insurance. From an insurer's perspective, smoking is associated with an increased risk of a number of serious health conditions, which is why smokers typically pay more for cover. The good news is that quitting smoking can have significant health benefits over time and may also improve your insurance options in the future.
Christine Evans Director of Underwriting & Claims Strategy – VitalityLife
Does switching from smoking to vaping lower life insurance costs?
No, switching from smoking to vaping does not usually lower life insurance costs. Most insurers treat vaping the same as smoking, so you normally won't be able to reduce your premium until you've been nicotine-free for at least 12 months.
Can smokers get life insurance with no medical exam?
Yes, you can often get life insurance without a medical exam, especially if you don’t have serious health conditions.
Most policies don’t require a physical exam, but you will still need to answer health questions as part of your application. This will almost always include questions about whether you smoke or vape, and it’s important to answer honestly. If you don’t, your policy could be invalid and a claim may not be paid.
Will guaranteed acceptance policies ask if I smoke?
Yes, many guaranteed acceptance policies will still ask whether you smoke or use nicotine. Smoking can still impact the price you pay, but the difference between smokers and non-smokers is often smaller than with fully underwritten policies.
Guaranteed acceptance policies are designed to offer cover without detailed medical underwriting. They are often marketed as over 50s life insurance and are aimed at people who may struggle to get standard cover. The trade-off is that these policies tend to have higher premiums overall, lower payout limits, and may include a waiting period before full cover applies.
Can I get life insurance if I have a smoking-related condition?
Yes, you can usually get life insurance if you have a smoking-related condition, but it depends on the condition and how severe it is.
If you have conditions such as COPD, heart disease or cancer, insurers may increase your premiums, apply exclusions, or in some cases decline cover. You may still be able to find options through specialist insurers who cater to higher-risk applicants.
Will my life insurance be cheaper if I cut down on smoking?
Insurers factor in how often and how much nicotine you use, so generally, the more you consume, the higher your risk and the higher your quote.
If you already have a policy, however, simply cutting down may not reduce your premium. Most insurers require you to stop using nicotine completely for a set period, usually at least 12 months, before they will consider offering lower rates.
After five years nicotine-free, some insurers may no longer require you to declare your past use, meaning you could receive rates similar to someone who has never smoked. However, if your past smoking has caused or contributed to a medical condition, you will still need to declare it when asked, and it could increase your premiums.
What happens to my life insurance policy if I start smoking or vaping?
If you start smoking or vaping after taking out life insurance, check your policy documents to see whether you are required to tell your insurer about changes to your nicotine use. A few life insurance policies include such terms, and they may increase your premiums as a condition of continuing your cover.
Most life insurance policies, however, are based solely on your health and circumstances when you take out the cover. For these policies, you do not need to tell your insurer that you have started smoking or vaping. Your insurer also cannot generally use your new nicotine use as a reason to increase your premiums or cancel your policy.
Do I need to tell my life insurer I'm an ex-smoker?
You need to answer any questions your insurer asks about nicotine use fully and accurately, but you may not need to disclose every instance of past use. Insurers often ask about a specific timeframe, for example, whether you have used any nicotine products in the past five years. If your nicotine use falls outside the period they ask about, you do not need to declare it.
If you are unsure what you need to disclose, contact the insurer and ask. That way, you can be confident you have answered their questions correctly and reduce the risk of problems if a claim is made.
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Reviewed on 9 Sep 2026
