Shopping life insurance

[Kabooma]

Well, I had posted about my fiasco with Prudential .. the summary is that they basically consider vaping the same as "tobacco use", or smoking to be blunt.

I've been shopping around, looked at a couple of policies, but not a lot yet, and found the two I looked at both changed the language to "nicotine users", lumping smokers, chewers, patchers, and vapers all into one high-risk cash cow.

Does anyone know of an insurance company that understands the difference between different nicotine habits and prices accordingly??

 

[Recon Number 54]

Unfortunately, the only component of the healthcare system who are taking the time and making the effort to discern and examine the differences between "tobacco use in all its variations" and "vaporizing PG and/or VG with metered nicotine" are the providers/physicians who are actually interested in taking the time and making the effort in order to provide better care and risk management for their patients.

Doctors (who are willing to learn something new, especially if it benefits their patients and the care they are being provided) are doing more to educate themselves and learn about the differences between tobacco use and vaping than the other healthcare players.

Insurance companies, and employers view of healthcare, are more typically accountants, economists and attorneys who only see the patient as a line on a spreadsheet and smoking/vaping as a variable that "tends to increase costs". That's the difference between decent doctors and the employers/payers.

Unless or until the MD's (who take the time to learn) can "get through" to the bean-counters and show them that vaping is a risk reduction and has profound improvements and preferences over "classic tobacco use"? Don't expect to see insurance companies making any changes in their current assumptions, policies or practices.

 

[Recycled Roadkill]

Snip:

Insurance companies, and employers view of healthcare, are more typically accountants, economists and attorneys who only see the patient as a line on a spreadsheet and smoking/vaping as a variable that "tends to increase costs". That's the difference between decent doctors and the employers/payers.

While I consider your whole post to be spot on, this portion accurately describes the position of the insurance industry. Should that position be changed, it's my opinion that would be done by those that regulate the insurance industry.

 

[bosun]

Not that I'm cynical or anything. Let's see if I can explain my logic.
"IF" most of the diseases attributed to tobacco smoking become expensive after the insured becomes Medicare eligible and no longer with the insurance company, then the insurance company does not want their insured to quit smoking and start vaping. Since their policy holders are evil tobacco users and deserve to be punished by increased rates (50% increases?) then it is the insurance companies moral obligation to levy those rates as punishment.
People who are interested in buying health insurance now are 'younger', i.e. not eligible for Medicare. IF there is not much difference (monetary payout) between the health of a smoker and a non-smoker for the first sixty years of life, then it makes fiscal sense to charge more to the smoker, thus increasing your bottom line. An easy, legal, popular excuse for something that would be called price gouging when applied to something else, like sky diving for instance (G). Longer the policy holder lives until starting Medicare, then the longer the insurance companies can get their policy fees.
Now IF the health problems happen after the age for medicare eligibility, then the Social Security recipient dies sooner than a non-smoker. Saves money for the government. Correct? A couple of months of chemo followed by a quick death has to be cheaper to pay for instead of kidney/heart transplants, joint replacements, dementia, nursing home care while the SS recipient reaches the magic age of one hundred!

 

[Kabooma]

I hate insurance companies. I hate even more that they've integrated themselves so deep into our daily lives that we just can't live without them. They hold us hostage for our overpriced premiums and expect us to be grateful for that alone. Ug.

 

[Fizzpop]

My insurance policy at work gives a discount if you will attest that you do not smoke. Now, I am convinced my wife and I are no longer smoking and that it is extremely clear that vaping is a much lower risk activity than smoking. (Hell, my doctor enthusiastically approves.)

That being said, I did not say that we don't smoke. I chose "smokes pipe" as it was the least offensive option. The insurance company retains the right to do a cheek swab for nicotine as proof of smoking; the penalty can be removal from the policy. No, I'm not smoking, but I'm not going to get into a pissing match with an insurance company about it either. I got the discount for having a primary care provider and taking a health assessment test (which turned out pretty well, thank you!)

Choose your battles wisely.