How long does it take

[cwj]

I started a new topic for this question instead of asking in the quitting smoking one because I thought maybe someone that works in the insurance field might see it here and have a answer for me. How long does it take for any trace of smoking to leave our bodys? My husband and I have to change health ins companys and I would love to be insuranced as a nonsmoker. (I quit about a month and a half ago.)

 

[Circe]

I don't know how reliable this is, but preliminary Googling tells me a year ... maybe posting it in Hangout might get you more responses?

 

[angel_nieves]

The insurance company can access information from the MIB - Medical Information Bureau from all member companies. In addition they ask you on the application. The application becomes part of the insurance policy which is a legally binding contract. If you lie on the application you have misled the insurer, and perhaps committed fraud.

So it best if you just fess up and say that you just recently quit.
Congrats on quiting!!!!!

 

[shimmer]

I''m in insurance! Sorry, but you totally can''t lie on those apps (don''t worry, I have even thought about it

). Especially if life insurance is involved, they will dig up EVERYTHING they can to get out of paying a claim (Drs conversations, anything!). Sad but true.

I can double check, but I''m pretty sure the actual physical traces of nicotine leave your body after three months. After that any amounts *can* be attributed to second hand smoke. Are you doing a blood test, or just urinalysis? I think that makes a difference.

The bright side is that some companies will allow you to have non-smoker rates after one year of not smoking, hopefully this one will. You just have to remember to apply for reduced rates one year down the road, they aren''t going to be knocking on your door to remind you

 

[cwj]

Date: 8/29/2008 5:54:00 PM
Author: Macie

The insurance company can access information from the MIB - Medical Information Bureau from all member companies. In addition they ask you on the application. The application becomes part of the insurance policy which is a legally binding contract. If you lie on the application you have misled the insurer, and perhaps committed fraud.

So it best if you just fess up and say that you just recently quit.
Congrats on quiting!!!!!

I must have been misunderstood!! I am not going to lie and didn''t think asking about ins. rules or laws implied that I was. I would not have thought that I would be misleading the insurer if I put nonsmoker if I was a nonsmoker. I was just asking how long I would be considered a smoker after I quit because I didn''t want to say I was a nonsmoker and still have it in my system. So I guess the question should have been, How long am I a smoker after I quit smoking?

 

[cwj]

Date: 8/29/2008 10:57:40 PM
Author: shimmer
I'm in insurance! Sorry, but you totally can't lie on those apps (don't worry, I have even thought about it

). Especially if life insurance is involved, they will dig up EVERYTHING they can to get out of paying a claim (Drs conversations, anything!). Sad but true.

I can double check, but I'm pretty sure the actual physical traces of nicotine leave your body after three months. After that any amounts *can* be attributed to second hand smoke. Are you doing a blood test, or just urinalysis? I think that makes a difference.

The bright side is that some companies will allow you to have non-smoker rates after one year of not smoking, hopefully this one will. You just have to remember to apply for reduced rates one year down the road, they aren't going to be knocking on your door to remind you

I wasn't going to lie. I have been insured as a smoker for atleast 25 years and have never applied as a nonsmoker.

 

[cwj]

Date: 8/29/2008 5:33:27 PM
Author: Circe
I don''t know how reliable this is, but preliminary Googling tells me a year ... maybe posting it in Hangout might get you more responses?

Thank you Circe, I checked the link out and it was very helpful. Looks like its about a year, but I will ask the agent about each different ins. company. Thanks again.

cwj

 

[angel_nieves]

I am so sorry I was not trying implying that you would be fibbing to the company. Grrr my post came out wrong.

 

[phoenixgirl]

DH quit in May of last year and we got life insurance just under a year from that point. The little old lady (her name was Mavis . . . really!) who came to do our bloodwork and stuff kind of gave DH the wink, wink, nod, nod when she asked him when he had quit. He said, "About a year ago," and she said, "So it was over a year ago, right?" wink, wink. But she did do a lung capacity test and she said that was how she could tell when people were lying to her. DH''s chest circumference difference between breath in and breath out was 3 inches and she said that smokers can barely get an inch if that.

 

[iheartscience]

I think you count as a nonsmoker now! You don''t smoke! Congratulations, by the way!

 

[shimmer]

Date: 8/30/2008 10:07:57 AM
Author: cwj

Date: 8/29/2008 10:57:40 PM

Author: shimmer

I''m in insurance! Sorry, but you totally can''t lie on those apps (don''t worry, I have even thought about it

). Especially if life insurance is involved, they will dig up EVERYTHING they can to get out of paying a claim (Drs conversations, anything!). Sad but true.


I can double check, but I''m pretty sure the actual physical traces of nicotine leave your body after three months. After that any amounts *can* be attributed to second hand smoke. Are you doing a blood test, or just urinalysis? I think that makes a difference.


The bright side is that some companies will allow you to have non-smoker rates after one year of not smoking, hopefully this one will. You just have to remember to apply for reduced rates one year down the road, they aren''t going to be knocking on your door to remind you

I wasn''t going to lie. I have been insured as a smoker for atleast 25 years and have never applied as a nonsmoker.

My bad, sorry! Totally read that wrong. It''s annoying, but most of the companies I work with have a 1 year waiting period from the time you quit to be considered non-smoker.

 

[rockzilla]

Not in terms of insurance, but in terms of health, I think I have read that once the length of time since you quit = the length of time you were a smoker, your health risks etc. are the same as someone who never smoked.

So, if you smoked for 5 years, five years after you quit you'd be back to "nonsmoker" risk levels.

and CONGRATS on quitting!

PS This may sound a little discouraging for folks who have smoked a long time...but I'm sure those who have quit will agree...a LOT of the benefits come immediately after, continuously up to the first year since quitting. The additional lowering of health risks over time is incremental (e.g. you can't smoke for 30 years and then expect to have the risk of lung cancer of someone who never smoked 2 years after quitting)