Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver — licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Last updated 2026-10-20

Does vaping count as smoking for life insurance in NZ?

Usually, yes, at the insurers whose guides we could read. Chubb Life's underwriting guide lists "vaping/e-cigarettes" among the products that attract smoking rates, and Fidelity Life's guide lists e-cigarettes and vaping "with nicotine". Both define a non-smoker as someone with no tobacco and no nicotine replacement in the last 12 months. Momentum's Quick Life prices on smoking status and requires 24 consecutive months of not smoking before you can apply to be re-rated, but its wording does not define what counts. The rules differ by insurer, so ask before you assume.

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In short

Chubb Life's guide includes vaping and e-cigarettes in its smoking-rate list without a nicotine qualifier. Fidelity Life's guide says "with nicotine", which leaves nicotine-free vaping unaddressed rather than accepted.
In QuoteHub's Premium Index, smoker cost for $500,000 of cover runs at about 1.5 to 2.4 times the lowest non-smoker quote, depending on age.
Momentum's Quick Life wording does not define "smoking", so ask Momentum or an adviser how vaping is treated before you apply.
Answer the question honestly. A wrong smoking status can change what a claim pays, and a false answer can do more.

What do insurers say about vaping?

New Zealand insurers set their own definitions, and the published ones are narrower than people expect. This table compares the three we could read in primary documents, as at 20 October 2026.

	Chubb Life	Fidelity Life	Momentum Life, Quick Life
Non-smoker means	No tobacco and no nicotine replacement in the last 12 months	No tobacco and no nicotine replacement in the last 12 months	Wording does not define it
Vaping	"Vaping/e-cigarettes" attract smoking rates	"E-cigarettes/vaping (with nicotine)" attract smoking rates	Not mentioned
Patches, gum	Smoking rates apply, including smoking cessation medication	Nicotine patches or gum attract smoking rates	Not mentioned
Other products named	Cigars (more than 1 a week), pipes and hookah (more than 1 a month), chewing tobacco, marijuana (more than 1 a week, may incur a loading)	Cigars and pipes (more than 1 a month), chewing tobacco, hookah with nicotine (more than 1 a month)	None
Getting re-rated	Not covered in the guide	After more than 12 months, by non-smokers declaration form	After 24 consecutive months, by non-smoking declaration

Sources: the Chubb Life Essential Underwriting Guide (May 2025), the Fidelity Life underwriting guide (October 2025), Fidelity Life's FAQ and the Quick Life wording (November 2025). Compared: Chubb Life, Fidelity Life and Momentum Life, on how each defines a smoker, from each insurer's own documents. Not every New Zealand insurer is included. This is one adviser team's reading, not a score. The two underwriting guides are written for advisers, so treat them as a description of process, not an offer. AIA, Asteron Life and Partners Life are not in the table because we could not confirm their definitions from a public document.

Two things stand out. First, the thresholds differ: Fidelity Life counts cigars once you smoke more than one a month, while Chubb Life counts them only above one a week. Second, Fidelity Life's wording leaves nicotine-free vaping unstated. That is not the same as a promise that it will be rated as a non-smoker. An underwriter decides, and zero-nicotine vaping should not be assumed to attract non-smoker rates without the insurer's sign-off in writing.

How much more do smokers pay?

QuoteHub's Premium Index shows indicative monthly cost from insurers' published rate cards as at 8 September 2026, for $500,000 of stepped cover, occupation class 1, standard rates (no loadings or exclusions). Each range is taken across the insurers that priced the row. Your own premium depends on underwriting.

Age	Man, non-smoker	Man, smoker	Woman, non-smoker	Woman, smoker
30	$30 to $40	$50 to $80	$20 to $30	$35 to $45
40	$40 to $50	$90 to $110	$35 to $40	$60 to $80
50	$90 to $120	$200 to $275	$80 to $100	$150 to $190

The gap peaks in the mid-forties to mid-fifties, where smoker cost runs at about 2.2 to 2.4 times the lowest non-smoker quote, and eases to about 1.6 to 1.8 times by 65. Staying nicotine-free for 12 months before applying would, on the same data, save about 33 to 57 percent a month at most ages. See the smoker rate pages and the methodology.

What does Momentum's Quick Life do with smoking status?

Quick Life is Momentum Life's guaranteed-acceptance life cover (ages 18 to 65, $50,000 to $300,000), issued by Momentum Life Limited. It asks no health questions, but the premium is built from age, gender, smoking status and the benefit amount, and it is recalculated at each policy anniversary. Smokers are accepted at a smoker rate.

Because acceptance is guaranteed, the early years are restricted. In the first 2 years, death related to a pre-existing condition, and suicide, are not paid; accidental death and new conditions are. Our Quick Life page sets out the plan and the guaranteed acceptance hub shows how it compares with underwritten cover. A healthy non-smoker can usually get more cover for less with fully underwritten cover through a licensed adviser, and the same is true for many vapers once they know their category.

What if you vape and say you do not?

The consequences depend on the insurer and on what happened. In the Quick Life wording:

If the smoking status was not correctly stated and the correct premium is higher, the benefit is adjusted to reflect what would have applied.
More widely, the wording says that if anything you provide is incorrect, incomplete or misleading, Momentum can decline a claim, reduce the benefit or cancel the policy, and if disclosure is deliberately false it can treat the policy as if it never existed.
If a policy has been re-rated to non-smoker and the life insured resumes smoking, it returns to smoker rates at the next anniversary, even if you do not tell Momentum.

Other insurers' policies work similarly in principle. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman publishes cases in which insurers avoided or reduced claims after non-disclosure, and in each case it looks at what was material (IFSO). Under the Contracts of Insurance Act 2024, a different test applies from 15 November 2027 (not yet in force), with remedies that depend on how careless the misstatement was. Until then, the course least likely to cause a dispute is to answer completely. Our guide to non-disclosure covers the detail.

How do I get a fair rate as a vaper?

Say what you use. Tell the adviser or the application exactly what you use, how often, and when you last used it.
Ask for the category in writing. Ask the insurer, through an adviser, how it classifies your product, including nicotine-free liquid. Fidelity Life describes its pre-assessment as "not an offer of cover", so a written answer is guidance, not a guarantee.
Compare two or three insurers. Because definitions differ, the same vaper can land in different categories.
Plan to stop. If you intend to quit, timing matters. Quit smoking and life insurance covers how the 12-month and 24-month clocks work, and life insurance for smokers covers the wider picture.

Who we are and how we are paid

Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). This page is general information, not advice. QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy a Momentum policy through our link; see how we are paid and our disclosure. Momentum Life Limited has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed on 11 February 2026. Momentum's own table puts B in its "Vulnerable" range, and the rating is not a recommendation; see its financial strength page. The buttons on this page open Momentum's online application. Written by the QuoteHub Editorial Team and reviewed by the QuoteHub Adviser Team; last reviewed 20 October 2026.

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