Best Life Insurance Rates for Smokers

Other Health Factors Qualify Smokers for Lower Term Premiums

Oct 22, 2009 Daniel Workman

This review of term life insurance premiums for male and female smokers reveals rate savings ranging from 16.8% to 24.5% annually.

Most consumers understand and expect that smokers have to pay higher life insurance premiums because of higher death rates.

Smokers still need life insurance and can qualify for competitive premium cost savings. In fact, a shortened life expectancy provides a compelling reason for smokers to carefully shop for the best term life insurance policies available at the lowest possible premium rates.

Many life insurance companies in the U.S. offer term life coverage to smokers. The challenge is to find a reliable rate comparison website that offers an unbiased premium quote prices.

The term life insurance premiums that this article presents were calculated based on rate comparisons tested on Compulife’s Term4Sale website. Zip code 10014 was used in these tests to represent densely populated Manhattan in New York. Rates shown are for 42-year-old male and female smokers born on June 15, 1967 for a $500,000 term life policy.

Best Smoker Rates for 5-Year Term Life Insurance

Only two life insurance companies, New York Life and Massachusetts Mutual Life, are included in the Compulife system as selling 5-year term life insurance to male and female smokers.

Based on rates from these two insurers, the average annual premiums for a 42-year-old male smoker in excellent health are 17.5% lower than the yearly cost for term life insurance for 42-year-old male smoker in average health. This amounts to a savings of $1,485 over the 5-year policy term.

• Male smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$1,455
• Male smoker in average health … $1,752

A 42-year-old female smoker in excellent health pays on average 16.8% less than a woman smoker in average health for a 5-year term life policy. This represents a total savings of $1,144 after 5 years.

• Female smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$1,133.75
• Female smoker in average health … $1,362.50

Best Smoker Rates for 10-Year Term Life Insurance

Based on rates from 5 large life insurance companies including William Penn Life and Transamerica Financial, average annual premiums for a 42-year-old male smoker in excellent health are 24.5% lower than the yearly cost for term life insurance for an average male smoker age 42. This amounts to a savings of $3,697 over the 10-year policy term.

• Male smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$1,141.67
• Male smoker in average health … $1,511.41

A 42-year-old female smoker in superior health pays on average 21.7% less than a woman smoker in average health for a 10-year term life policy. This represents a total savings of $2,516 after 10 years.

• Female smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$907.50
• Female smoker in average health … $1,159.05

Best Smoker Rates for 20-Year Term Life Insurance

The same life insurance companies in Compulife’s rate comparison database that sell 10-year term life also provide the best 20-year term rates. For 20-year term life insurance, the average annual premiums for a 42-year-old male smoker in excellent health are 20.9% lower than the yearly cost for term life insurance for an average 42-year-old man who smokes. This amounts to a savings of $9,799 over the 20-year policy term.

• Male smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$1,853.67
• Male smoker in average health … $2,343.60.

A 42-year-old female smoker who is very healthy pays on average 18.8% less than a woman smoker in average health for a 20-year term life policy. This represents a total savings of $6,608 after 20 years.

• Female smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$1,428.83
• Female smoker in average health … $1,759.22

Best Smoker Rates for 30-Year Term Life Insurance

There are 6 large life insurers including the Independent Order of Foresters with 30-year term rates in the Compulife system. The 30-year average annual premiums for a 42-year-old male smoker in excellent health are 17.6% lower than the yearly cost for term life insurance for an average 42-year-old man who smokes. This amounts to a savings of $21,456 over the 30-year policy term.

• Male smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$3,353.58
• Male smoker in average health … $4,068.78.

A 42-year-old female smoker in excellent health pays on average 19.5% less than a woman smoker in average health for a 5-year term life policy. This represents a total savings of $16,895 after 5 years.

• Female smoker in excellent health ... Annual premium of US$2,317.75
• Female smoker in average health … $2,880.93

Findings from Review of Smoker Life Insurance Rates

This brief analysis shows that the Compulife database has fewer life insurance companies with 5-year term life insurance rates than for term life policies with fixed premiums for longer time periods.

Also, the average annual premiums for a 30-year term life policy for male and female smokers are about 2.3 times higher than premiums for 5-year term life coverage.

But while the annual premium rate rises as the policy duration expands, smokers can still comparison-shop for significant savings on their annual life insurance premiums.

The copyright of the article Best Life Insurance Rates for Smokers in Insurance is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish Best Life Insurance Rates for Smokers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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