How Can Life Insurance Companies Tell If You Are A Smoker?

Life insurance companies can tell if you are a smoker by testing your blood and urine, by asking about tobacco use on the life insurance application, sometimes by doing a phone interview and asking about tobacco use, and sometimes by looking at medical records which may indicate use of tobacco or health issues related to smoking.

The life insurance companies can't always tell if you are a smoker, but it is surprising how many people get caught using tobacco when they think they won't. 

And once that trust is broken between what was stated on the application for life insurance and what is true, the underwriters for life insurance companies don't give you much benefit of the doubt for anything else.

What this means is if you lie on the application and are caught, you may be declined for life insurance coverage, or, at the very least, your rate will be increased to smoker's rates.

In addition, if you lie on the application for life insurance, and you die as a result of tobacco use, then the life insurance company may decline payment of the claim on your life insurance policy due to a material misrepresentation on the application. This is called the contestability clause, which gives the insurance company 2 years from the day you purchase the life insurance to contest any claim.

Here's how you can compare smokers life insurance quotes online from leading carriers.