Let’s just cut to the chase on this subject. Men who smoke very often don’t carry life insurance because smokers have to pay, in general, 3-4 times more than a non smoker of comparable health. They have decided that the extra premium means life insurance isn’t happening when the truth is that what they pay to smoke is probably more.

And it’s about to get worse. The life insurance company that has really been a smoker’s best friend for years, Liberty Life, will be sold to a holding company shortly after the first of the year. Their rates are the best out there for a smoker in good health and often 15%-20% less than the competition. So for those who have used price to avoid their family responsibilities, well, your excuses just got easier.

I understand that budgets aren’t made to be busted and I never advocate busting a budget with life insurance, but it seems that most smokers I’ve tried to work with take the rates personally and would rather go without than say, lower the amount of coverage. I know they understand that life insurance rates are determined by health and lifestyle and those issues impact on mortality risk, but somewhere there is a disconnect.

Check it out yourself. All you need to do is plug in to an online quote engine. For your viewing enjoyment I have unplugged the need to reveal your contact information. Put in your birth date and state, click on preferred for health, click on no for smoker, change the term length to 20 and hit submit. These are the rates for a preferred non smoker. Now back up and change smoker to yes. It should be about 3 times more than non smoker.

Why? Well, if your doctor or your spouse hasn’t spelled it out for you, suffice it to say that smoking is just a little hard on your body and while everyone who smokes can cite the exception, smoking does have an impact on your mortality experience.

Bottom line. If you smoke and use the cost of life insurance as an excuse not to purchase family protection, you might want to reconsider before Liberty Life quits selling their product. Better yet you might want to consider quitting. 12 months of non smoking can cut your rates to 1/3 or increase the amount of life insurance you can afford by 3.

If this post has struck a chord with you, I can help. I am a life insurance agent licensed in all 50 states. You can call toll free 866-539-7914 or email ed@hinermangroup.com.