Life insurance calls me a smoker?!

[erinspeed]

I just got a call from my local State Farm agent. He said that my new $100k life insurance is SOOO expensive because the medical test (blood and urine) came back with nicotine. I had told them that I was a non-smoker using e-cigs. They put me down as a non-smoker at the time of the test. When I asked my agent about this he said that the tests can't distinguish between smoking, chewing, patches or gum. Nicotine puts you in the smoker's rate category.

Am I being fleeced here? I told him to cancel the new policy. I cant afford the high rate. Wasn't this one of the reasons I quit smoking n the first place?

Question of the day: Is there an insurance company with the policy to test for other compounds found in tobacco, rather than just nicotine? Or am I just screwed?

 

[Berylanna]

Don't' know if there are, but medical people often test for carbon monoxide, and that is VERY different between combustible-users vs. smokeless.

 

[MorpheusPA]

In most cases, insurance companies consider any nic replacement to be still smoking because of the very high rate of relapse. I don't know if any at this point have adjusted to the reality of e-cigs, insurance companies are notoriously slow to shift their actuarial tables if it works to their advantage.

 

[erinspeed]

@Morpheus--That's what i figured. Now my smoker status is documented. What now? Have it re-done after a period of time with zero-nic juice?


****Edited to show joy at my 100th post****

 

[MorpheusPA]

@Morpheus--That's what i figured. Now my smoker status is documented. What now? Have it re-done after a period of time with zero-nic juice?

If you can't find a company that considers the e-cig either "non-smoker" or "reduced risk," then talk to your agent. The combined nic/carbon monoxide test would show that you aren't a smoker (I had a CO test done at the doctor's office for funsies, so it's not hard).

If you test as no-nic then you're going to be a non-smoker regardless. Nicotine's detectable residual is about 72 hours in the body, so you'd only need about three days clear to pass a test with flying colors. I'd give it a bit more time just to be sure.

I have no idea if agents talk, but suspect they don't, so you testing that way for one company shouldn't impact it for others.

 

[BlueSnake]

If you can't find a company that considers the e-cig either "non-smoker" or "reduced risk," then talk to your agent. The combined nic/carbon monoxide test would show that you aren't a smoker (I had a CO test done at the doctor's office for funsies, so it's not hard).

If you test as no-nic then you're going to be a non-smoker regardless. Nicotine's detectable residual is about 72 hours in the body, so you'd only need about three days clear to pass a test with flying colors. I'd give it a bit more time just to be sure.

I have no idea if agents talk, but suspect they don't, so you testing that way for one company shouldn't impact it for others.

FYI if you abstain and retest and get coverage just be aware that if something happens to you and they find nic in your blood the claim will be denied.

 

[TomCatt]

Cotinine is what they test for to determine if you are a 'smoker' or not (IIRC). This is a metabolite of nicotine. Your CO levels should not be elevated. 0 nic should allow your body to rid itself of any nicotine metabolites.

From Wikipedia:
"Cotinine has an in vivo half-life of approximately 20 hours, and is typically detectable for several days (up to one week) after the use of tobacco. The level of cotinine in the blood is proportionate to the amount of exposure to tobacco smoke, so it is a valuable indicator of tobacco smoke exposure, including secondary (passive) smoke.[8] People who smoke menthol cigarettes may retain cotinine in the blood for a longer period because menthol can compete with enzymatic metabolism of cotinine.[9]"

 

[MorpheusPA]

FYI if you abstain and retest and get coverage just be aware that if something happens to you and they find nic in your blood the claim will be denied.

I'm hopeful the OP meant that he wished to go to and stay at 0 nic. If you're doing it just for the test, that's a bad idea.

Any insurance that wants to know if you're a smoker (life and health, usually) reacts badly if you show up with nic in your system and didn't change your status. Your best bet is to find a company that respects use of the vaporizer in that case.

 

[volume control]

FYI if you abstain and retest and get coverage just be aware that if something happens to you and they find nic in your blood the claim will be denied.

By law Life Insurance companies only have contestability for two years to deny a claim based on nicotine. So if its been two years, feel free to go back to using nicotine. Or if you want to risk it 2 years, thats your call.

 

[RosaJ]

There is a HIPA regulation that requires any medical information being disseminated to anyone, not even your family members unless you give your written consent. So the insurance companies cannot divulge any medical tests done on you without your consent.

 

[erinspeed]

My agent asked if he could send a copy to my Dr. Sure, I say. With new electronic medical records, won't my status as a smoker be available to anyone with an interest and access?

 

[erinspeed]

HIPPA laws sound nice, but I have a hard time believing that they are "private".

 

[volume control]

I deal with HIPPA daily. You can sue BIG TIME if anyone divulges ANY of your info without your consent. They cannot give your info to another Insurance company, and if they did, you could end up not needing life insurance anymore

 

[Bullette the Cowdog]

Are we talking Term Life Insurance or Whole Life? Does it matter?

 

[volume control]

Are we talking Term Life Insurance or Whole Life? Does it matter?

Both are usually affected by smoking afaik

 

[macdo]

I paid the crazy rates for one year. I had failed the blood and urine test(I was still smoking). I met with my insurance guy a year later and had to sign a form saying that I didnt use patches, gum or Zyban. It didnt say anything about ecigs. I didnt have to do any another tests. My rate dropped $40 a month.