Would you like to get the best smokeless tobacco life insurance rates?

As you already know from other content on Dipsurance, the biggest misconception out there is that dippers and chewers can only qualify for tobacco rates on life insurance. That’s just NOT TRUE! Never pay 2x to 4x more for a tobacco rated life insurance premium when there are life insurance companies out here that offer smokeless tobacco chewers a non-tobacco rating!

(QUICK SIDE NOTE: this is an in-depth article explaining different factors that determine the best smokeless tobacco life insurance rates in 2018. If you’re looking for actual samples of the best smokeless tobacco life insurance rates only, you can scroll to the bottom of the article.)

The most important thing tobacco chewers can do to get the best smokeless tobacco life insurance rates is apply for life insurance with a company that is okay with smokeless tobacco use. Once you find the best company your rates will depend on several other factors. Let’s start by looking at the various types of life insurance:

You’re probably looking for the best life insurance rates for smokeless tobacco users in 2018 because you want to protect the one who matter most to you if you were to pass away unexpectedly. Typical reason you may be looking for life insurance are for reasons such as:

• protect the loss of your income
• children expenses such as college education
• cover debts such as mortgage, college loans, or credit cards
• leave a legacy for your loved ones
• to cover divorce financial reasons such as child support or spousal support 
• just to make sure everyone will be okay finanically

 …before shopping around for top rates, it’s important to understand the various types of life insurance available to tobacco chewers:

Term life insurance is a great fit for individuals that have a shorter-term need or a specific time frame they are looking to cover. You choose the specific term that begins when the policy is purchased. Most term life insurance policies are for a period between 10 to 30 years. 

Tobacco chewers who purchase a term policy will pay level premiums for the duration of the policy and will be covered while it is in force. These policies are usually purchased if you are looking for low cost insurance coverage to cover you during a specific amount of years (usually your working years). 

…here’s a common example of someone who purchases term life insurance:

Jason, age 34, decides to purchase a term life insurance policy to help make sure that his family will be able to cover the mortgage on their home if he were to pass away unexpected. The home has 20 years left on the mortgage so he wants to buy a 20-year term $250,000 policy to cover the outstanding debt on the house.

During the 20-year term, the monthly premiums on the policy are level and guaranteed not to change. Once the 20-year term expires, premiums will increase each year if Jason chooses to keep the policy in place. Typically, term life insurance offers the following options:

• Insurance premiums that are guaranteed to be level during the term period
• Conversion options on the policy where you can convert the term policy to a permanent policy without taking another medical exam
• Additional life insurance riders that can be added for an extra cost to customize your policy

Simply put, whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that will cover you for your entire lifetime. The whole life insurance rates (premiums) are usually level and guaranteed for your entire lifetime. It’s the most common type of permanent life insurance and offers the potential for cash value inside the policy that can potentially accessed during your life tax-free.

Whole life insurance premiums are more expensive than term life, and it’s commonly bought by tobacco chewers with large estates or those who are seeking life insurance for life. 

Another common type of permanent life insurance that chew tobacco users buy is guaranteed universal life insurance. It’s often referred to as UL or No Lapse life insurance and is a popular choice for those concerned about outliving term life insurance or those they don’t like expensive premiums on whole life insurance. It’s a great choice if you are looking for:

• Premiums that can be level for a lifetime
• Death benefit guaranteed to age 90, 95, 100, 105, 115 or even 121
• Length of premium payments can be flexible
• An inexpensive permanent life insurance product to protect you

…just remember that these “No Lapse” or “Secondary Guarantee Universal Life” policies may not have cash value. If you’re looking for flexibility and the opportunity for cash value accumulation it may be possible with an indexed life insurance policy:

Indexed Universal Life, commonly referred to as an IUL Policy, allows the owner to allocate cash value to both fixed accounts and equity index accounts for potential growth. These policies offer tax-deferred cash accumulation for potential retirement savings while maintaining a death benefit.  A portion of each premium goes to annually renewable term insurance based on your age and the rest to cash value. 

The amount that goes to the cash value is invested is allocated toward indexes of your choice such as the S&P 500 or even the Nasdaq 100. Your cash value is then credited with interested based on the increases in the underlying index, but not directly invested in this index. Because of this, you can only participate in some of the upside of the index but none of the downside. 

An IUL can be be a good choice for dippers that are looking to take advantage of putting away cash value for things like:

• Key-person life insurance (key-man life insurance) for business owners
• Estate planning life insurance strategies
• Premium Financing 

…just be sure to fully understand indexed life insurance before making the purchase! So now that you have a basic understanding of popular life insurance choices for smokeless tobacco chewers, let’s look at things that affect your rates:

Often tobacco chewers ask us:

Does chewing tobacco affect life insurance?

…only if you apply with the wrong insurance company. Let me explain:

One of the biggest factors in lowering the cost of smokeless tobacco life insurance quotes is applying with the company that will offer you non-tobacco life insurance rates. Besides applying with the correct company, the following factors play the biggest role in how life insurance rates are priced by the company:

The type of life insurance policy you choose to purchase is very important consideration. As a general rule of thumb, term life insurance is going to be cheaper than whole life or universal life insurance for the same tobacco chewer. Also, the length of the policy determines how much you pay. Generally, the longer the duration the more the premiums will be. 

The amount of life insurance coverage you put into place will play a significant role in the cost of premiums. As you probably can guess, one million dollars (1 million) of 20-year term coverage will cost more $300,000 in 20-year term coverage for the same spit tobacco user. The higher the coverage, the more you will pay in monthly or annual premium payments for smokeless tobacco life insurance. 

During the life insurance process, you will fill out what’s called a formal application. You will have to list the typical questions like your name, age, and employment. Furthermore, you need to provide accurate details on your health situation and lifestyle. Typically the following questions will be asked on the life insurance application:

• Date of Birth
• Height
• Weight
• Details on lifestyle; do you drink or smoke (if so, how often?)
• Your financial information; income and net worth
• Occupation
• Hobbies (they are looking for high risk hobbies such as scuba and skydiving)

Also, when applying for most types of life insurance the carrier will require that you undergo a medical examination before putting the policy into place. The point of this medical exam is to verify the information that you provided in your application and determine if any other tests will be required. 

Typically, life insurance carriers work with paramedical companies during the medical exam phase of your application. Once you apply for the policy, the paramedical company will send a out a certified medical technician (paramed) to perform medical tests and send the results to be reviewed by the underwriter. Here’s what you can expect from the paramed:

• Take Your Blood Pressure: wants to ensure blood pressure is not elevated
• Reviews Medical History: verify medical history submitted on app and get additional details if needed
• Height and Weight: verifies your height and weight with scale and measure
• Urine Sample: urine analysis to detect nicotine, drugs, among other things
• Blood Sample: draw blood sample to determine if nicotine or drugs present in your system
• Questions about lifestyle: will ask questions about drinking, smoking and occupational hazards

…just remember that it’s best to answer questions on your life insurance application honestly. There’s no point to lie on your app and commit fraud when you can always find the company that will look at your situation most favorably. 

If you want to secure the lowest smokeless tobacco life insurance rates as possible, you’ll have to be sure to remember a few key points. While many factors do come into play, just remember that your health is looked at very hard. You will need to prove that you’re in great health to get low rates. Here’s some of the top tips to secure low rates:

Just remember that each life insurance company looks at smokeless tobacco use differently. One of the biggest keys for tobacco chewers to save money on life insurance is to apply with the company that is okay with your smokeless tobacco habit. Dipsurance works with multiple life insurance companies that will offer dippers and chewers a non-tobacco health rating!

Most life insurance companies will consider you a smokeless tobacco users for one year (12 months) after you quit dipping. So if you’ve quit within the last 12-months, be sure to apply with a company that will offer you a non-tobacco ratings. If it’s been longer than 12 months, you can qualify for non-tobacco rates with just about any life insurance company. Here’s more on quit dipping life insurance options. 

A question on the life insurance application will ask for details on your alcohol consumption. If the life insurance company sees that you have heavy alcohol consumption and/or your blood test shows raised enzyme levels in your liver, you life insurance rates may be higher. Drinking less or none at all can often lower life insurance rates offered by the company. 

Obesity is linked to many different medical conditions that may lead to a premature death. Life insurance underwriters know the risks of being overweight and have build charts for your height. If you are currently overweight, you may see a reduction in life insurance costs if you lose weight and fall into a better build category. 

Life insurance carriers may charge higher rates on premiums if you partake in dangerous hobbies such as scuba diving, skydiving, rock climbing or aviation. Higher rates are often result when your behavior is deemed to be dangerous such as DUI or a very bad driving record which seen as a higher chance of an early death. 

Whole life insurance will provide coverage for your entire life as long as premiums are paid. Because the coverage is longer, the rates are typically more expensive than term insurance. If you only need life insurance coverage for a specific amount of time, consider applying for term life insurance coverage and invest the difference. Here’s more on important things you should know about whole life insurance.

Life insurance riders are additional options that you can add to your life insurance policy. Some common riders are often purchased are the accelerated death benefit rider and the child term rider. Determine the purpose of your life insurance and evaluate each rider carefully to see if adding a rider is necessary or just an added expense that’s not needed. 

You should know this by now…but just remember that not all life insurance companies view you the same. The key is to match your health and lifestyle with the company that will view it the most favorable. Each company has sweet spots in underwriting guidelines and our job is to sell your unique situation to the best company. Here’s more on how dippers get non-tobacco life insurance rates. 

Congrats, you’ve kicked the smokeless tobacco habit!

…or maybe you just want to quit dipping?

Here’s the thing: most people who quit dipping and using smokeless tobacco chewers are overpaying for life insurance. They are stuck paying expensive smoker rates because most life insurance agents don’t know how to help them get more affordable non-tobacco rates. So they’re paying 2x to 4x more than they should be paying on premiums! 

Are you currently paying smoker rates?

In this quit dipping life insurance guide I’ll show you how to lower your life insurance rates and start saving money. Saving money on monthly premium payments is possible because not all companies view smokeless tobacco use the same…

Typically…most life insurance companies follow a 12-month tobacco free guideline for smokeless tobacco. This means that you must refrain from tobacco for at least 12 months to qualify for non-tobacco life insurance rates. If you’ve used smokeless tobacco products such as:

• Dip 
• Chewing Tobacco
• Snuff
• Snus
• Tobacco Plugs 
• Tobacco Pouches

…you will be classified in the more expensive tobacco (smoker) category!

These life insurance companies look for any tobacco use. The frequency of how often smokeless tobacco chewers use these products is not a determining factor. This means that you may have quit last week, but you still fall into the same higher priced tobacco category as the 2-can-a-day Copenhagen dipper!

How do life insurance companies find out about smokeless tobacco use?

Just remember to never try to hide or not disclose your current or previous use of smokeless tobacco!

First of all, it’s going to be hard to hide this fact. Your life insurance application will ask you if you use or have used tobacco products in the previous 12-months. Just be honest and say yes because if you don’t, it’s a form of insurance fraud if you lie on the application!

Secondly, most life insurance policies require a medical exam as part of the application process. As part of this exam, a nurse will come out to…

• Draw Blood
• Get Urine Sample

The insurance company will check to see if nicotine shows up in either of your tests. If you test positive for nicotine but reported you didn’t dip, your chances of getting a fair insurance offer from that company plummet. 

Even if you’ve quit dipping or able to hid your chewing tobacco habit from the insurance company, you’re still taking on a big risk. During the first 2-years a life insurance policy is under what’s called a contestability period. This means that if you die during that two-year time frame and the insurance company discovers you lied about dipping, it can deny paying out your death benefit!

(key life insurance point: honesty is the best way to deal with smokeless tobacco use on your life insurance application. There’s no reason to lie on the application and commit fraud when you can find companies that will offer non-tobacco rates to smokeless tobacco chewers and those who quit in the last year.)

Here’s how you can get non-tobacco life insurance rates if you’ve quit dipping (or still use smokeless tobacco):

Every life insurance company has specific guidelines for smokeless tobacco quitters and current chewers. This means that each company will view spit tobacco use in very different way. The key is for you to find the company that view tobacco chewers favorably and have no problems with offering a recent quitter a non-tobacco rating. 

You should always apply with a company that:

• Offers Standard Non-Tobacco Rating If You’ve Quit Smokeless Tobacco Products in Last 12-Months
• Offers Standard Non-Tobacco Ratings to Current Smokeless Tobacco Chewers 
• Special Tobacco Ratings If Your Health Does Not Qualify for Standard Non-Tobacco Ratings

…this is the key to saving money on life insurance!

On average, you will be able to save about 50% if you apply with a life insurance company that will offer a non-tobacco rating. Put another way…if you are currently paying $100 per month for life insurance with a tobacco rating, you a can secure the same policy for about $50 per month with a non-tobacco rating. That’s the best chewing tobacco life insurance rates in 2016. 

Here’s a recent comparison for a 37-year-old former skoal dipper who quit last month:

Also, you need to know that exact life insurance rates may depend on how long it’s been since you’ve used smokeless tobacco. Here’s how you can find out how much life insurance premiums may be if you’re trying to quit or quit within the last twelve months:

Give yourself a pat on the back if you’ve quit dipping this year (or even if you’re just thinking about quitting)!

Most life insurance companies still consider you a tobacco user. Fortunately…there are a select few companies that will offer you the more affordable non-tobacco rating. Dipsurance works with all the well-known life insurance companies that will offer you these rates including Prudential and Metlife.

Find out how much you can save by with your free quote:

Haven’t dipped or chewed tobacco for at least 12 months?

I’ve got really good news…you can typically qualify for a non-tobacco (nonsmoker) life insurance rate with just about any life insurance company.

Just remember that each company will view the issue a little differently. Generally, the more time that has passed since you’ve last chewed tobacco, the cheaper the life insurance premiums you get. The key is shop the rate and compare quotes from many different companies. We’ve made this really simple:

So if you’ve read this far (or scrolled down to this point) the points below summarize steps to take if you’re shopping for life insurance and quit dipping or just thinking about kicking the habit:

• Compare quotes from several life insurance companies that will offer you a non-tobacco rating. Some insurers are more lenient than others about nicotine and smokeless tobacco use. 
• Don’t leave your family vulnerable by putting off buying life insurance until you quit dipping. Here’s how dippers get non-tobacco life insurance rates. Once you’ve quit for over one year, you can compare quotes from other life insurance companies that will now offer you nonsmoker ratings. This strategy allows you to lock in coverage now at an affordable price, in case you develop health problems in the future that make you uninsurable or make rates very expensive. 
• Enroll in a tobacco-free program. There are many organizations that will offer them for free, you can find tips and resources on the killthecan.org website. 
• If you purchased life insurance as a tobacco chewer and then quit dipping, ask your life insurance company how to qualify for non-tobacco rates
• Don’t lie about your smokeless tobacco use on the life insurance application. Lying is fraud, and insurance companies may not pay out your death benefit if you die during the contestability period. 

Did you know…

…not all life insurance companies view smokeless tobacco use the same?

Life Insurance for people who use dip, chew or snuff have historically been classified as smokers when it comes to life insurance. Thanks to more favorable underwriting guidelines for smokeless tobacco users some life insurance companies will now offer non-tobacco rates for those that use smokeless tobacco.

Research has shown that people who use:

• Dip 
• Chewing Tobacco
• Snus

…have less risk of various cancers and health conditions than people who smoke. This doesn’t mean smokeless tobacco users have no risk, just that there is slightly less risk!

Also, not all life insurance companies agree with this.

Most life insurance companies will rate smokeless tobacco users as smokers or ‘tobacco’ rates. A majority of the smokeless tobacco users we talk to either currently have life insurance at smoker rates or have been only quoted ‘smoker’ life insurance rates.

The good news?

A few life insurance companies that we work with will offer non-tobacco rates at a substantially lower price than the tobacco rates. Prudential Life Insurance has been the leader for smokeless tobacco life insurance. They understand the risk very well and rate it appropriately.

…and for the occasional weekend dipper:

We can also get non-tobacco rates for those casual smokeless tobacco users. As long as you can pass the test and show no nicotine in your blood AND admit to using smokeless tobacco, you can get non-tobacco rates.

MetLife is the leader in getting these rates. In general, they are priced a little better than Prudential but if you are a regular dipper or chewer, MetLife would not be the best option.

Here’s an example of prices for a regular dipper:

To highlight the price difference between non-tobacco and tobacco rates…here’s an example of a recently placed life insurance policy for a Skoal tobacco user:

40 years old, a daily user of Skoal and wanted $500,000 of 20 year term coverage. His other agent quoted him tobacco rates of $148/month. We quoted and issued a policy through Prudential for $68/month.

If he took that other policy, he would have paid $19,200 more in premium payments over the 20 year term policy! That is just crazy!! This is why we started www.dipsurance.com. We saw a need to educate and help people that chew, dip or use snuff that there are better options for life insurance available out there that most agents don’t even realize!

You can get started by getting a free non-tobacco quote below:

Or if you prefer to get a personalized life insurance quote as a smokeless tobacco user over the phone, please give us a call today to speak with one of our experience agents. We will discuss the options available at the best prices and help you find the top smokeless tobacco life insurance rates!

For those looking for no medical exam options…

When you are ready to apply for life insurance, most plans require you to do a full application and a medical exam. The life insurance application can all be done over the phone and the medical exam can be done at the comfort of your own home.

There are some options for ‘no medical exam’ life insurance for smokeless tobacco users. You can get up to $150,000 of coverage and it’s a term to age 100 plan. The best advice I can give is to call today and speak to one of our licensed experts to see which option is best for you!

This is it, folks.

Dipsurance is about to reveal the biggest secret that most dippers (and even life insurance agents) do not know about using smokeless tobacco and getting a non-tobacco health rating.

There’s a lot of dippers out there overpaying for life insurance…in fact the most common question we get asked by tobacco chewers is:

Can I get non-tobacco rates for my life insurance premiums?

…and they ask for good reason!

Securing a non-tobacco health class means that your life insurance premiums will be much more affordable. Depending on the life insurance company, the difference in premiums could be thousands of dollars per year.

Go ahead, find out how much you can save by getting non-tobacco rates…

Here’s the thing about tobacco rates for life insurance: There should be a separate category just for smoker rates because each life insurance company views smokeless tobacco use differently!

In fact, smokeless tobacco use is not black and white in the eyes of insurance companies.

There are several life insurance companies out there that view smokeless tobacco us much more favorably than smoking. A select few of these companies will approve dippers and chewers of tobacco for non-tobacco rates.

In other words, choosing the right insurance company to apply for life insurance with can be a major advantage to your budget…or the wrong company can be a very costly added expense.

Here’s an example of the difference between non-smoking (non-tobacco) and smoking rates:

First, you need to know…

Life insurance premiums on tobacco ratings are between 2x and 4x more expensive than non-tobacco premiums for the same person. This means that if all other things are equal, such as:

• Height
• Weight
• Health Conditions
• Medical History
• Medications 
• Family Health History

…you’re going to pay 50% to 200% more for an identical tobacco rated life insurance policy!

Put another way…if you pay are currently paying $50 per month in life insurance premiums for a non-tobacco rating, you would pay between $100 and $200 per month for the same exact policy with a tobacco rating. 

Here’s an example where a 35-year old dipper of Copenhagen wants to purchase a 20-year term policy with a face amount of $250,000, but does not know the non-tobaccco secret: 

Step 1, it’s simple…

You start by getting life insurance quotes from companies that offer smokeless tobacco chewers a non-tobacco rating. This means that if you use:

• Dip
• Chewing Tobacco
• Snus
• Snuff
• Tobacco Pouches

…these life insurance companies are okay with your smokeless tobacco use!

As long as you don’t smoke, there are insurance companies out there that will offer you a non-tobacco health rating when applying for life insurance. And…these are very well-known insurance companies (household names). Dipsurance works closely with several companies including Prudential and Metlife.

We’ve made Step 1 easy.

Go ahead…get your non-tobacco quote in less than 30 seconds:

You’ve now got quotes from several companies that will offer you a non-tobacco rate…but what about your other health issues?

Most tobacco chewers view themselves as healthy, unfortunately most applicants will be considered higher risk by the insurance company. In fact, only about 5% of all life insurance applicants receive a preferred plus rating (the top health class).

Most of us have some type of health issues going on, whether it be minor conditions such as high blood pressure to something serious like diabetes.  Issues such as:

• Diseases: Any type of serious diagnosis such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and immune disorders are considered higher risk diseases by the insurance company.
• History of Your Health: If you have a history of obesity, eating disorders, sleep apnea, drug or alcohol addition, rehab, and DUIs are viewed as higher risk.
• Medications: Your medications are reviewed and could lead to a higher risk category
• Occupations: There are some occupations and professions that are viewed as high risk which include, airline and helicopter pilots, firefighters, underwater welders, police officers, and underground miners, to name a few.
• High Risk Hobbies: Most dippers don’t realize that hobbies such as sky diving, racing cars, scuba diving and rock climbing are considered to be a high risk by the insurance company.

Don’t worry, there is good news…

What most people don’t know: Each life insurance company has “sweet spots” in their underwriting guidelines. This means that Company A will view you different than Company B or C. That’s why it’s so important to apply with the company that views your hobbies, health, profession, etc. the most favorable!

How can you find the best life insurance company?

No worries, Dipsurance does the hard work for you…

From the list of companies that will offer you a non-tobacco rate, it’s our job to match your health issues and lifestyle with company that views them most favorably. We’ll “sell” your situation to the underwriters by informing them of your issues in the most favorable way possible.

…this process keeps most dippers out of high risk categories and keeps premiums low!

Wanna see how easy our process is?

Check out the video here for a complete walk through example of our two-step process detailed above: See an online quote in less than 30 seconds for non-tobacco rates, and then an explanation of our pre-qualification process for higher risk life insurance applicants: