Partner, Waterway Financial Group, Myrtle Beach, SC
Yes. Most life insurance carriers are very specific about rating their customers into categories, such as Non-Smoker or Smoker. While each company has a different name for how they classify it, each holds the risk to tobacco users and non-tobacco users, who have different life expectancy's, therefore different risks to the insurance company. The methods of discovery can be blood and urine test, or even a simple mouth swab which is used to detect trace amounts of nicotine. Some companies don't mind a little use, while others are very restrictive.
Yes, when you take an exam as part of the life insurance application process, the lab will test for the presence of cotinine in blood, urine and/or saliva. Cotinine is a metabolite of nicotine that lasts longer than nicotine so can be detected longer, and is a more accurate measure of smoking activity.
If you take a policy that does not require a paramed exam, no such test will be done. The application usually asks if the applicant has used tobacco in the past year, and if the company orders medical records, they could find out about smoking that way.
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If you take a policy that does not require a paramed exam, no such test will be done. The application usually asks if the applicant has used tobacco in the past year, and if the company orders medical records, they could find out about smoking that way.