Smoking and insurance underwriting

Smoker rates are not a surcharge on standard rates; they are a separate table, and the gap between the two is one of the largest in life underwriting. Published New Zealand comparison data shows smoker premiums running several times the equivalent non-smoker figure at older ages. That makes smoking status the most financially significant answer on most application forms.

It is also the answer most easily checked. A cotinine test is part of the routine underwriting blood panel, and cotinine is a marker of nicotine rather than of cigarettes specifically. An applicant who declares non-smoker and returns a positive cotinine result has created a disclosure issue on top of a pricing one, and a policy issued on an inaccurate declaration is vulnerable at claim time.

Read the insurer’s own wording rather than assuming. The definitions differ in two ways: what counts as a nicotine product, and how long you must have been clear of it.

• Cigarettes, cigars and pipes are covered by every definition.
• Vaping and e-cigarettes are covered by most, though the wording differs.
• Nicotine pouches, gum and patches are covered by some definitions.
• The clear period required commonly runs to a year or more, and differs by insurer.
• Occasional or social smoking still counts. There is no threshold below which it does not.

What the insurer does with it

• Applies the smoker rate table to every benefit on the policy.
• Reads smoking status alongside other conditions, particularly respiratory and cardiovascular ones.
• Verifies through a cotinine test where blood testing is required.

The change here is well defined. Every insurer publishes a period after which a former smoker qualifies for non-smoker rates, and reaching that point is a straightforward basis for asking for the policy to be reassessed. The request has to be made — insurers do not switch you automatically — and most will require a declaration and sometimes a test.

These are the details that decide whether the cover does what you expected. Read them before you compare on price.

• That the definition covers more than cigarettes, and that the wording differs by insurer.
• That the clear period required is not the same everywhere, which can decide which insurer to apply to.
• That a cotinine test verifies the declaration where blood testing is required.
• That a false declaration is a disclosure problem that can affect the whole policy, not just the price.
• That non-smoker rates must be requested once you qualify — nothing happens automatically.

Every New Zealand insurer writes applications where smoking status applies to its own wording, and the words are where the money is. Two policies that look identical on price can pay very differently when it matters. Closing that gap is the entire job of an adviser.

• Non-smoker definitions and clear periods differ, so the same person can qualify at one insurer and not another.
• An adviser can tell you which insurer’s definition you already meet, which is sometimes worth waiting for.
• Where a policy was issued at smoker rates, an adviser can manage the reassessment request when you qualify.
• For applicants with a respiratory or cardiovascular history, an adviser knows which insurers combine the two most kindly.

There are three ways to buy life cover in New Zealand, and they are not equivalent. You can buy direct from one insurer, which means you see one product range and one underwriting appetite. You can buy through your bank, which usually means a single insurer’s product sold under the bank’s brand, often with narrower definitions. Or you can go through an adviser, who quotes several insurers at once and is required to put your interests first.

The premium you pay is the same either way. Insurers build adviser commission into their pricing whether or not an adviser is involved, so going direct does not get you a discount — it just removes the person whose job is to argue your corner at application and at claim time.

• An adviser can see which insurer is currently taking your health history on standard terms, and which one will load or exclude it.
• An adviser can structure cover across two insurers if that produces a better outcome than putting everything with one.
• An adviser handles the underwriting back-and-forth, and is the person who chases the claim when a family is least able to.
• An adviser has to document why the recommendation suits you, which is a written record you can hold them to.

We are a referral service, not an insurer. We do not quote premiums and we do not sell policies. What we do is put you in front of one licensed New Zealand adviser who can compare the market properly.

1. 1

   You tell us what you are looking at

   The form takes about a minute. Nobody asks for your medical history on a web form — that conversation happens with the adviser, properly, and only once you have decided to proceed.

2. 2

   An adviser calls you

   A licensed New Zealand adviser talks through your situation: who depends on you, what you owe, what you already have in place, and what you are actually worried about.

3. 3

   They compare the market

   The adviser quotes across the major insurers, checks which of them will take your health history on the best terms, and puts the options side by side in writing.

4. 4

   You decide, in your own time

   There is no obligation and no cost to you. If the answer is that you already have enough cover, a good adviser will tell you that.