Vaping and life insurance?

[the_vape_nerd]

So as a smoker, or hopefully former smoker, do you think I could represent to my life insurance company that I am now not a smoker? The premiums would be cut in half. But I'm still ingesting nicotine. I think you have to be quit for a full year before they consider you a non-smoker, but is it the nicotine that defines this? or a tobacco product?

Surely someone out there sells life insurance and would know?

 

[vocr]

Like this topic and very curious, bump!

 

[Eddie.Willers]

IMHO, if you are not smoking tobacco cigarettes, cigars pipes etc then you are NOT a "smoker".
If you ARE using Snus, dissolvables, snuff etc then you are a "tobacco user".
If you ARE using NRT patches or gum then you are a "tobacco products user".

I would add vaping to this last category - clearly you are not smoking (burning) tobacco or putting processed tobacco leaf into your body.

However, from what I understand, insurance companies are beginning to test urine for the presence of cotinine - a metabolite of nicotine that can occur naturally - and using that as "proof" that you are a "smoker" or "tobacco user" in the absence of a medical RX for NRT products.

 

[jj2]

What Eddie said, and yes, it's a bit unfair.

 

[vapbear]

What Eddie said is to the best of my knowledge exactly what the insurance companies are doing now. It seems unfair since nicotine itself is not the cause of the vast majority of smoking related illnesses and deaths.

 

[Bizrad8381]

so get and rx for chantix and you should be all set!!!!

 

[michaelcly]

I got quotes from select quote. Only one gave me a better rate. Prudential. All the others considered it smoking

+1 on the chantix idea

 

[DrmChld]

My life insurance had a nurse come out and do a blood and urine test. It sucked. I just didn't vape for 2 days. It was tough but in the end its worth it. As long as they don't test for nic when I die.

 

[vapbear]

I've heard about some really terrible side effects from chantix so I'd do some serious research before taking it. Just my

 

[Bizrad8381]

Didn't say you had to take it

 

[Caver]

Just getting a script for Chantix won't do anything for insurance. If there's any record with your Doctor that you are/used to smoke, the insurance will want verification you have been "smoke" free for a certain length of time and will probably require you to prove it with a blood test or whiz quiz.

My insurance uses the term "tobacco use" and their length of time to be "smoke free" is 1 year...so no matter the source of the nicotine, they consider it smoking and I'm hosed...

 

[David Bruno]

I've been off ciggs 2.5 years. I list as a non smoker period. I was treated for throat cancer last year. Had the surgery and radiation. There hasn't been any more cancer found during recent scans.It looks like I avoided the reaper so far. I do have to list the throat cancer which does bring up a hornets nest by my past years of smoking. Being off ciggs doesn't benefit me because of pre-existing conditions. When I was diagnosed the doctors had no problem with me using the E cigg. My doctor is a teaching Head of the ears, nose,throat department Surgeons at university hospital in Ann Arbor. He actually had looked into vaping in the past as a way to get people off of analogs before surgery. He deals with throat cancer the most. He worked on me for 11 hours on the table and saved my life. If he doesn't think vaping is bad. The insurance company should follow suit.
Dave

 

[sheryder]

Sorry if I am just "slow" this morning but how would this be of benefit?

 

[the_vape_nerd]

sheryder, if life ins. companies would agree that vaping wasn't smoking my premiums would be cut in half

 

[Colonel]

I think the point is that your life insurance company is yours. Your choice. If they define a 'tobacco user' as someone that has levels of nicotine in their system measuring at or above x, well, find one that doesn't. I think there is no certain way of defining a smoker other than measuring nicotine. And that's a safe bet on their part.

My life insurance would go from $95 a month to $25 a month if I stopped using nicotine products. And the under writer defined it for me. He said. "we can not differentiate between nicotine from smoking and from vapor inhalers, so we have to treat them the same.". Oh well. I chose the company.

 

[vocr]

That's a false market ideology. Name me one American insurance company that differentiates? Name it for your fellow ECFers so they can switch? "Choice" is all well and good, but corporatism removes choice and market controls. Today corporatist world economics uses choice as a sham to blind consumers into happily consuming along.

 

[Allazar]

The reason why my husband and I started looking into vaping is because our health and life insurance was going to give us an increase because we were smokers and then made it explictly clear that 'this does not include the use of non tabacco e cigarette use' so we switched over and never looked back.

I would say to call and ask, especially if you live in TX...