Smoke cigars at your paramedical exam and you’ll still get non-smoker life insurance rates with us!
It’s true, and this guide tells you the rules so you don’t get stuck with an overpriced policy.
Cigar Quick Overview
Follow these links to the section that best meets your cigar habits.
- Life Insurance for Daily Cigar Smokers
- Occasional Cigar Smoking and Life Insurance
- Life Insurance for Celebratory Cigars
- Former Cigar Smokers
- Other Tobacco Use with Cigars
- Cigar Smokers Life Insurance Tests
- Cigar Smoking Rules by Life Insurance Carrier
At RiskQuoter.com, our tobacco and nicotine users underwriting experience will help you get the best rate possible based on your cigar smoking history!
Life Insurance for Daily Cigar Smokers
Daily cigar smokers qualify for non-tobacco rates as long as there is no cigarette smoking.
You can even smoke a cigar at your paramed exam with some life insurance companies and still get a non-smoker rate!
The 3 most competitive companies for daily cigar smokers have underwriting rules that you must meet in order to get the non-tobacco rates:
- No Cigarette Smoking in the past 12 months
- Other Tobacco Use if any needs to be discussed with us.
- The application indicates daily cigar use
- Medical records are consistent regarding smoking status
- Your lab results may be positive for Cotinine which is derived from nicotine use and what insurers look for in lab tests.
The 3 best life insurers for most daily smokers are:
Prudential – Is the best overall for cigar smokers as their “Non-Smoker Plus” rate is available.
Lincoln Financial Group and John Hancock will both consider “Standard Non-Tobacco” rates for cigar smokers.
Prudential and Lincoln require no cigarette use within the past 12 months, so if you chew tobacco, etc. you may still qualify for non-tobacco rates.
John Hancock requires no other tobacco use in the past 12 months.
Occasional Cigar Smoking and Life Insurance
If you smoke the occasional cigar and have good health, it may be possible to obtain a “preferred” or possibly a “preferred best” non-tobacco life insurance rate.
The vast majority of competitive life insurance companies offer non-tobacco rates for occasional cigar use.
Your lab results must be negative to obtain these rates, and the frequency of occasional cigar use will determine which life insurer is best for you.
Here are some examples of occasional cigar use:
AIG/American General – 1 cigar per week = Preferred Plus
Banner Life – 1 cigar per month = Preferred Plus rates.
Protective Life – 6 cigars per year = Select Preferred rates.
Prudential – 2 cigars per month = Preferred Best rates.
Occasional Cigar Pitfalls
The following factors may ruin your day if you apply to the wrong company:
- Recent approval at tobacco rates – Some companies hold this against you.
- Other Tobacco – Limits the choice of companies to a few
- Medical Records – Will your medical records match your cigar usage on the application?
We’ll tell you which life insurers are best for you and will provide you with the rules up front so you don’t overpay for life insurance.
Life Insurance for Celebratory Cigars
If you smoked a cigar at a wedding, bachelor party, special occasion, etc. it’s not going to be a problem with 99% of life insurers.
Just let us know and we’ll steer you to the right life companies.
Just make sure your lab results will be negative and admit the celebratory cigar on the application and you won’t have any problems.
Former Cigar Smokers
This really only applies to daily cigar smokers who recently quit.
During the first 12 months after you quit, the best rate opportunity will be the same as a daily cigar smoker.
After 12 months, we can get you the best rate classes with some companies as long as you would otherwise qualify for the best rates.
Other Tobacco Use with Cigars
If you use other forms of tobacco and smoke cigars, the companies available are limited.
Prudential at their Non-Smoker Plus rate is the best option as they’ll still consider you for non-tobacco rates for other tobaccos including chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, nicotine gum, nicotine patches, e-cigarettes, and even Hookah use.
Lincoln will consider Standard Non-Tobacco rates if the other tobacco use is chewing tobacco or pipe tobacco.
Cigar Smokers Life Insurance Tests
Many people ask us:
Am I cheating to get a cigar non-smoker life rate?
Absolutely not!
Some life insurance carriers recognize that cigar smoking does not have the same health risks as say cigarette smoking.
On the application, you’ll indicate that you smoke cigars and the frequency of cigar use.
Life insurance paramed exams test for Cotinine which is derived from nicotine use…just make sure yours is negative if we are applying for the best rates.
Cigar Smoking Rules by Life Insurance Carrier
The rules for cigar smokers change on a regular basis. Here’s the latest information available.
All cigar smokers receive non-tobacco life insurance rates at Prudential! That’s right. You may smoke cigars every day of the year, and Prudential will still give you a “non-smoker plus” life insurance rate.
Your urine specimen may be positive for the nicotine byproduct cotinine, as Prudential does not care about this.
Prudential is the only life insurance company in the industry that will offer “non-smoker plus” rates for daily cigar smokers. In fact, there are only a handful of life insurance companies that offer non-tobacco life insurance rates for daily cigar smokers, and those other companies would only consider you for their “standard” rate.
How Do We Get You the Best Cigar Smoker Rate?
We maintain a database of competitive life insurance rates and underwriting guidelines.
We’ll match you to the best companies and show you why our recommendation is the best rate available to you.
Submit your request today or give us a call at Toll-Free (800) 909-2040 to get a free, no pressure, no obligation comparison.
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