Do life insurance companies check out if I am a smoker? If so, how and why?

Life insurance companies check people who smoke and give them higher rates because smoking is a health hazard and it does give you a higher chance of dying. In fact, smoking can prevent for you to have any life insurance at all. How does an insurance company find out that you are a smoker and how much? At times, they ask you. You probably filled out an application asking you about smoking or not.

If you decide to lie about the fact that you are a smoker, your application will probably be denied. Since a life insurance application is considered to be a legal contract, lying on it is illegal and unethical. Don't forget that most companies also require you to take a physical exam. The results of the exam will probably indicate that you smoke. Companies might also investigate your medical history and evaluate from then on.

There are companies that might request additional information about you from the Medical Information Bureau (MIB). The MIB contains medical files on people who have applied for life insurance with member companies. Alas, you have a pretty low chance of getting away with the fact that you lied on your application. Another disadvantage about lying is that your life insurance company will eventually find out, terminate your life insurance policy, and leave your beneficiaries without protection. If they find out, it is probably going to happen within the first two years of the policy.

If, for example, you died from emphysema (an illness caused by smoking) a year after you purchased life insurance, then your beneficiaries will probably be left with nothing. Smoking and abusive consumption of alcoholic beverages will cause your life insurance company to give you higher rates. Other than those two health hazards, obesity might also cause for your life insurance rates to be higher than normal. Losing weight, and keeping a healthy lifestyle will make your life insurance rates decrease - simply because you'll be healthier and have a lower risk of dying.