Can you get long-term care insurance if you smoke?

Smokers can and do buy long-term care insurance. Tobacco use is a rating factor, not an automatic decline — the bigger question is whether smoking has already caused another condition.

How smoking is underwritten

• Tobacco rates. Smokers pay higher premiums than non-smokers, but smoking alone rarely prevents coverage.
• The real barriers. Smoking that has led to COPD or heart disease is what makes coverage genuinely hard.
• Nicotine counts broadly. Cigars, chewing tobacco, and vaping may all be treated as tobacco use, depending on the carrier.

Quitting helps

Most carriers offer non-smoker rates once you have been tobacco-free for a period — often around a year, though it varies by carrier. If you are planning to quit, doing so before you apply can meaningfully lower your premium.

General information only. Underwriting varies by carrier and changes often, and we do not publish carrier-specific approval thresholds. Nothing here is a guarantee of coverage or a quote — only a licensed carrier reviewing your medical history can tell you what you qualify for. This is educational and not insurance, legal, tax, or financial advice.