Smoking carries a certain dark cloud over the smoker's head – and it's not the cloud of smoke from the last cigarette. It's the cloud of untimely death. Everyone is going to die, but people who engage in dangerous activities and habits that are known to cause death, such as smoking, are at a greater risk for dying before they would had they not started smoking.

Life insurance companies see the dark cloud that follows smokers around, too. That's why it sometimes seems impossible for smokers to purchase life insurance policies. It's difficult enough for people with health problems they were born with or evolved naturally to get a good life insurance policy, but smokers are just speeding up the process of death on their own.

Most life insurance companies require potential policyholders to undergo a medical examination before offering them a life insurance policy. Many smokers try to hide their habit by refraining from smoking for a few days before the medical examination; while this sometimes works, it doesn't mean the smoker is in the clear. If the smoker resumes smoking once the medical examination is over and the life insurance policy has been purchased, he or she can still be denied coverage.

The reason for this is most life insurance companies have a “contestable period,” which is a set amount of time from the time the policyholder purchases the life insurance policy. If the policyholder dies during that time, and the life insurance company finds out the policyholder died from smoking-related health conditions, the company can revoke the death benefits and the family members and beneficiaries will be left high and dry.

If you can't stop smoking for yourself, stop smoking for your family.