Tobacco users get the maximum life insurance premiums among those who are in the three "typical" life insurance categories for risk: standard, preferred, and preferred plus. So if you would be qualified as a Standard risk (you have no significant hea

Smokers contribute about three times as much for a policy as they would if, all other things being equal, they didn't smoke. And yes, there are Preferred smokers (these are smokers who bicycle and don't eat fast food). They pay higher premiums than their non-smoking Preferred counterparts.

What does it meant to a life insurance institution if you are defined as a "smoker"? It means that you use tobacco (other than chew, which might also raise your rates) at least once a year, basically. That's an exaggeration, but if you smoke "only when you drink" or "socially" and you're not an addict, or if you are limited to pipes or cigars, that's all smoking as far as life insurance underwriters are concerned. You are grouped together with those who smoke two packs a day and start levitating if they go for half a day without a smoke. However, if you truly are just a social or occasional smoker, and that gets borne out by the medical examination, you may receive a better basic ranking and get lower premiums than you otherwise would have if you smoked regularly.

But many people try to trick life insurance companies about their smoking status. This is, of course, to save money. And they can often get away with it, at least at first, because nicotine can be cleared completely out of one's system as long as one goes at least 72 hours without doing any smoking. Some people are willing to suffer for a few days just before their life insurance medical exam in order to get those lower premiums.

Some people also deceive--knowingly or unknowingly--because they will say on their questionnaire that they are a non-smoker because they only smoke "periodically". Remember, if this gets found out later on by the life insurance company, they will raise your rates up to smoker level. If you die and it gets found out through investigation that you were even an occasional smoker, the company will pay the death benefit minus the amount of premiums it should have collected up to the time of your death.

If you have never smoked or if you have not smoked at all for at least five years, the life insurance industry considers you a non-smoker. If you truly are a non-smoker at the time of application, but after your policy is issued you take up smoking, the life insurance company will look the other way--unless you apply for more insurance, in which case your new policy will carry smoker rates.

Some life insurance companies place random, unannounced phone calls to their newer policy holders to see if they can spy any inconsistencies in what they wrote on their questionnaire. This is done because it's known to them that smokers can and do cheat and they have sometimes gotten away with it. So if you are a smoker--even one who just smokes when she drinks or goes to a party--admit it on your application. It will save you a lot of trouble even though it's no great crime. And it might motivate you to quit smoking so you can get a new policy issued with non-smoker premiums.