Chewing Tobacco & Life Insurance: Your Guide to Affordable Coverage

Chewing tobacco doesn’t have to mean sky-high life insurance premiums. With the right knowledge and guidance, you can secure the best rates and protect your loved ones.

Tobacco chewers will always get non-tobacco life insurance rates with us

We explain everything you need to know about life insurance for chewing tobacco users so you can get the best life insurance policy.

The statistics show that most chewers overpay for life insurance.

Don’t let that be you…We help smokeless tobacco users get the best rates in the market.

While chewing tobacco has its own risks to your health, insurance company actuaries have determined that chewing tobacco is less risky than cigarettes, vaping, or e-cigarettes.

Life insurance buyers’ most common misconception is that they must lie for the non-tobacco rate!

Not at all! In fact, when you complete your application, you will indicate on the application that you chew tobacco.

Most tobacco and nicotine users can get non-tobacco rates if they know the rules and get to the right company.

Life insurers test urine samples for cotinine, which is a derivative of nicotine and can stay in your system for up to 10 days ¹

This won’t matter for most chewers, as companies will give you non-tobacco rates even if the urine sample is positive.

What happens if you quit chewing tobacco altogether?

Life insurance companies consider you a tobacco chewer for 12 months after you quit chewing.

Each life insurer has its own underwriting guidelines that dictate what rate classes will be available to you after that 12-month mark.

Generally speaking it takes a few years after quitting before a preferred best rate becomes available.

Was your current policy issued at a chewing tobacco rate class?

You have two options available.

1. You can ask for consideration from your existing company
2. Apply to a new company for a non-tobacco rate.

Your best bet is to apply for a new policy. Here’s why.

Changing an existing policy is complicated. Most companies require you to submit a new urine sample, change forms, and possibly medical records.

It takes forever, and you have to pay for everything.

Apply to a new company, get the non-tobacco rate, and cancel the existing policy.

Underwriting is based on how often you use smokeless tobacco and whether or not your paramed exam lab results will be positive or negative.

If you chew tobacco daily, non-tobacco life insurance rates are available with these companies:

• John Hancock – standard non-tobacco rates
• Lincoln National – standard non-tobacco rates
• Prudential – non-smoker plus rates

Example: 35-year-old male who chews daily and needs $1,000,000 – 20-year term life insurance.

Company	Rate Class	Annual Premium
Lincoln National	NonTobacco	$888
Prudential	Non-Smoker Plus	$905
John Hancock	Non Smoker	$1379
Banner Life	Preferred Tobacco	$1825

Bottom Line – Banner Life’s best tobacco rate ($1825) is more than double the price of Lincoln National’s ($888) standard non-tobacco rate for daily chew!

There’s no need to quit chewing for the paramed exam (if required) because it doesn’t matter if the sample is positive.

A paramed exam is a brief exam that consists of checking your height and weight and answering questions about your health history.

Progressive is the worst for chewing tobacco life insurance, and here’s why.

They don’t sell life insurance. They write content about topics like chewing tobacco and then sell your information to a third party when you submit a request.

If you only chew tobacco occasionally, you may want to stop chewing long enough to provide a negative urine sample.

The reason why is that occasional chewers can qualify for better-rate classes.

Minnesota Life will consider their best rate class if the sample is negative and you chew 12x or less yearly.

Example: 35-year-old male who chews 12 times or less per year and needs $1,000,000 – 20-year term life insurance.

Company	Rate Class	Annual Premium
Minnesota Life	Preferred Best	$457
Lincoln National	NonTobacco	$888
Prudential	Non-Smoker Plus	$905
Banner Life	Preferred Tobacco	$1825

Minnesota is strict with offering its best rates to occasional tobacco chewers.

With the occasional use of smokeless chewing tobacco, underwriters look closely at medical records, the Medical Information Bureau, your family medical history, and your overall history to ensure occasional use is accurate.

If your medical records show any discrepancy about the amount you chew, underwriting is based on the highest quantity in your records.

No, not at all.

You have to admit chewing tobacco use on your life insurance application.

Knowing which term life insurance companies have favorable underwriting programs for smokeless tobacco is key.

That’s where we’ll be able to guide you to affordable life insurance rates.

Whether you need personal coverage or business coverage for SBA life insurance, keyperson coverage, or to complete a policy assignment, we can help.

As part of our process, we’ll ask you questions about chewing tobacco usage to ensure we connect you with the right company.

Questions We’ll Ask You Include:

• When did you start using chew?
• How often do you chew? (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
• Can you stop chewing long enough to provide a negative urine sample?
• Do you want to stop chewing long enough to provide a negative sample?
• Do you use any other tobacco or nicotine products? (cigars, pipe tobacco)
• If yes, what do you use, how much, and how often?

Remember that regardless of your answer to the above questions, non-tobacco life insurance rates are available.

And we work for you, not the insurance company so you can ask us anything.

The most common factors outside of chew that affect rates include:

• Multiple Tobacco Products – Smoking cigarettes or vaping.
• Health Issues – Underwriting is tougher on tobacco users.
• Nicotine Gum – Will cause a positive urine sample.
• Lying on Applications – When caught, most companies decline you.

All types of coverage are available, whether you buy term, whole, or universal life insurance.

Accelerated underwriting and no-exam life insurance are available. You may be able to get $500k of term life insurance with no exam, sometimes even more.

Term lengths up to 40 years are available, but issue ages are lower than for non-tobacco users.

We’ll also help you choose riders if needed, name your beneficiary, and select the death benefit settlement option that best meets your needs.

Here’s another example of a couple comparing us to the Costco life program through Protective Life.

Details	Female – Age 32	Male – Age 33
Health	Perfect Health	Chews tobacco daily
Coverage	$500,000 – 20-year term	$500,000 – 20-year term
Price	$15.10 per month	$109.91 per month
Our Price	$16.27 per month	$38.72 per month

The rate for the spouse was hard to beat, but because he chewed tobacco daily, we could move him to Lincoln National for almost 1/3 of the Costco price!

Plus, the Lincoln policy offered an accidental death rider and conversion privilege for the full 20-year term.

It’s a tremendous saving if you can meet the guidelines for chewers’ non-tobacco life insurance rates.

You have questions about chewing tobacco and life insurance, and we have the answers.

Please take a few minutes to submit your quote request today. 

Our Life Insurance 101 guide is a great place to start if this is your first time buying life insurance.

There is no pressure or obligation with our service.

We’ll let you know which company is best for your tobacco use history.

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