Smoker status is a question with a long memory

There is a short answer about smoker status and a useful one, and they are not the same. What follows is the useful one.

The price gap is large

Smoker rates on life and critical illness cover are typically a substantial multiple of non-smoker rates for the same person. The gap reflects a well-established difference in mortality and morbidity rather than a penalty. It also means the financial value of a completed abstinence period is unusually concrete and measurable.

That is one of the few places where a health change translates directly into a documented saving.

The definition is broad

Most insurers define a smoker as anyone who has used any tobacco or nicotine product within the stated period. That commonly includes vaping, heated tobacco, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco and nicotine patches or gum. An occasional cigarette at social occasions counts, which surprises people who do not consider themselves smokers.

The question asks what you used, not how you would describe yourself.

It is testable

Nicotine and its metabolites can be detected in blood, urine or saliva samples taken at underwriting. Where evidence is gathered at a claim, medical records referring to smoking status can also be relevant.

In practice, a discrepancy between the declaration and the evidence is a straightforward misrepresentation. Given the size of the premium difference, it is also plainly material.

The consequence of getting it wrong

In jurisdictions applying proportionate remedies, the settlement may be reduced to the proportion the paid premium bears to the correct premium. Because the correct premium can be several times higher, the reduction can be severe. Where the misstatement is treated as deliberate, the policy may be voided entirely.

This falls on dependants at the point they need the money, which is the whole reason the cover exists.

Changing status mid-policy

Stopping smoking does not automatically reduce an existing premium, and most insurers do not re-rate an in-force policy. The usual route is applying for a new policy at non-smoker rates once the abstinence period is complete.

For most people, that requires fresh underwriting, so it only works if your health is otherwise similar or better. Never cancel existing cover until the replacement policy is in force and accepted.

Practical points

Confirm each insurer's exact abstinence period, since it is not uniform across the market. Keep a note of the date you stopped, because the application will ask.

For most people, if you use nicotine replacement to stop, check whether that counts, because it usually does. Any decision to replace existing protection cover should go through a regulated adviser rather than being done alone.

The takeaway

The question covers any nicotine, and it is testable. Answer it as the insurer defines it.

Pick the one that costs you least, and let the rest wait.