Smokers usually pay more for life insurance than non-smokers, but there is no single answer to how much more life insurance costs for smokers: the gap depends on the insurer, your age and the cover you choose. The insurers quoted here agree the price is higher, and Aviva gives one dated example of its own, set out below.

Being a smoker covers more than cigarettes, and insurers differ on where the line falls. To have your own smoking history put to several insurers, send the free form here and an FCA-authorised broker will phone you.

Who counts as a smoker for life insurance?

Each insurer writes its own definition, and they share a core. Legal & General's guide (published 16 September 2026) says you are a non-smoker only if you have "not smoked any cigarettes, cigars, a pipe (including shisha/hookah), or used vapes, e-cigarettes or nicotine replacements at all in the last 12 months, even if the product used did not contain any nicotine", and that you "will still be classified as a smoker" for its purposes if you use nicotine-free vapes. Frequency does not change the category either: the same guide says a few packs a day or an occasional smoke when out with friends "amounts to the same thing for insurers".

Royal London's consumer guide (undated, read 19 October 2026) says the question covers any nicotine or nicotine-replacement product used in the last 12 months, and that a yes makes you a smoker. Aviva's guide says that "for many insurers, including us, you’re classed as a smoker if you vape or use nicotine substitutes such as patches, gum or lozenges".

Vitality's guide (last updated 9 December 2025, read here in an archived copy of 15 February 2026) puts the common position this way: "Most insurance companies will class anyone who has used tobacco, nicotine, nicotine replacement products or electronic cigarettes / vapes in the last 12 months as a smoker." It also says the definition "depends on the insurer", so read the smoking question on each application as it is worded.

How much more do smokers pay for life insurance?

Insurers agree on the direction: Legal & General says smoking and vaping make premiums "higher than for non-smokers". None of the insurers quoted here gives a multiple or percentage that would hold for everyone; how much more you would pay is settled in your own quote.

Aviva says that if you smoke "you’ll have to pay more than a non-smoker", and its page, published 13 February 2023, gives an old illustration. It says a 35-year-old non-smoker wanting £150,000 of life cover to last 25 years "would pay from £11.22 a month", and that the same person as a smoker "would pay £21.18 a month"; the page notes the price is "based on figures from July 2024". It is Aviva's dated example for one age, one amount and one term. It is not a current price, not a quote for you and not a ratio to apply to other cover or other insurers.

Other things move the price in the same quote: your age, health, the amount and length of cover and any critical illness add-on. Our guide to what life insurance costs and what sets the price covers those, and how premiums change with age explains why an older smoker usually faces a different quote from a younger one. For a figure on your own details, the form here lets a broker approach insurers for you, at no cost and in a few minutes.

How do insurers check whether you smoke?

First by asking, on the application. The insurers quoted here describe two further routes.

Legal & General says it "may ask you to attend a smoking test before your life insurance application can be approved", and that if you have said you are a non-smoker you may be invited to a medical that includes a blood test. Royal London's literature for advisers explains the test: "A cotinine test provides an indication of whether products containing nicotine have been used." It may be asked for if the application said no to the smoking question and the person is sent for a miniscreen, paramed or doctor's examination.

Medical records are another route. Vitality says an insurer may ask your GP for a medical report, and Aviva says that if a claim is investigated and a health report "shows evidence you weren’t truthful, this could invalidate your policy". Our page on life insurance without a medical explains when your answers alone decide the policy.

What happens if you say you do not smoke and you do?

The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 sets the rules. Section 2 puts a duty on you to take reasonable care not to misstate anything to the insurer. Under section 4 the insurer has a remedy only if it can show that, without the wrong answer, it would not have offered the contract at all or would have offered it on different terms. Smoking status is the kind of answer that can change the terms or the premium.

What the insurer can do then depends on how the answer was wrong:

  • Deliberate or reckless. Under Schedule 1 the insurer can avoid the policy and turn down every claim, and it can keep the premiums unless keeping them "would be unfair to the consumer". It is for the insurer to show an answer was deliberate or reckless, though the Act presumes, "unless the contrary is shown", that you knew a matter the insurer asked a clear and specific question about was relevant to it.
  • Careless (anything not deliberate or reckless). If the insurer would not have offered cover on any terms, it may avoid the contract and refuse all claims, but must return the premiums. If it would have offered different terms other than the premium, the contract is treated as made on those terms if the insurer requires. If it would have charged a higher premium, it can scale a claim payment down in proportion, so a payout is cut rather than refused.

A careless answer found when no claim is outstanding is judged by the same tests, including for claims yet to be made. Where the insurer would have offered different terms or a higher premium, it may give you notice of that, but the Act does not let it end the policy on that ground: it "may not terminate a contract" in that situation if the contract "is wholly or mainly one of life insurance". On smoker status in particular, Legal & General's guide warns that after a claim "any cash payout could be reduced, or the policy invalidated altogether". The wider rules are in what you must disclose.

Can you switch to non-smoker rates after quitting?

Aviva says that if you took out a policy as a smoker and then stop, "this won’t automatically change your premiums". It classes you as a previous smoker after 12 months or more without tobacco or nicotine products, "can consider different rates" if you gave up one to five years ago, treats you as a non-smoker after five years, and says your past smoking history may still affect your price. In the other direction, if you start smoking after taking out a policy, your premium "won’t go up", though you "might have to let your insurer know", so read the terms.

Legal & General says a current policy and its premiums would be unaffected, but that you "could be eligible to take out cover as a non-smoker after 12 months, which may affect the cost of a new policy". When cover is being replaced, "it is normally a good idea to wait until your new cover starts before cancelling existing policies".

LV= says premiums "won’t automatically change": you would need to tell your insurer, who "might agree" to reduce them. It says most insurers class you as a non-smoker if you have not used a cigarette or nicotine substitute "within at least the last 1 to 5 years", and that you won't usually count as a non-smoker until you have quit for at least 12 months "without relapse". Royal London suggests discussing it with your insurer or getting quotes for a new policy, "as it may mean your monthly payments drop".

Vitality's archived guide says that if you stop after taking out cover, "your premiums will likely go down". You "normally need to have consumed no tobacco or nicotine products for at least 12 months", which "includes nicotine patches, vaping and other methods designed to help you quit tobacco", and the insurer may ask for evidence such as a GP report or a test. If you are weighing a new policy, how to get life insurance quotes sets out what a quote needs.

Frequently asked questions

Does vaping count as smoking for life insurance?

Legal & General and Aviva say vaping makes you a smoker for their cover, and L&G includes nicotine-free vapes; Vitality says most insurers class vapers as smokers. Check the wording on the application you are filling in.

Can I get life insurance if I smoke?

Aviva says "The simple answer is, yes you can get life insurance if you smoke", at a higher price than a non-smoker. If you have been turned down, see life insurance with medical conditions; a broker can approach other insurers, though none can promise an offer.

Is life insurance cheaper for non-smokers?

Generally yes, according to the insurers quoted above. The only figures here are Aviva's dated example in the section on price, which is not a current price; the difference for you depends on your details.

What about life insurance for older smokers?

The smoker definitions quoted above do not change with age, though age itself moves the price. Over-50s plans work differently; our pages on the SunLife plan and the British Seniors plan explain how each works.

Which insurer is best for smokers?

Insurers are not ranked here. Definitions and waiting periods differ, so compare like for like on the same smoking history; our BMI page shows how another lifestyle factor is treated.

Once you know how you would answer the smoking question, the form lets a broker talk it through with you. More in health and underwriting.

Sources

  • Legal & General, Life insurance for smokers (published 16 September 2026), read 19 October 2026. legalandgeneral.com
  • Aviva, Life insurance for smokers (published 13 February 2023; price example based on figures from July 2024), read 19 October 2026. aviva.co.uk
  • Royal London, What factors affect the cost of life insurance? (undated), read 19 October 2026. royallondon.com
  • Royal London, Types of evidence (adviser page, undated), read 19 October 2026. adviser.royallondon.com
  • Vitality, Life Insurance for Smokers (last updated 9 December 2025; archived capture of 15 February 2026), read 19 October 2026. vitality.co.uk (archive)
  • LV=, Life insurance for smokers UK (last updated 5 May 2026), read 19 October 2026. lv.com
  • legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, sections 2, 4 and 5 and Schedule 1, read 19 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk