Life Insurance With COPD: Options by Stage, Oxygen and Smoking

You can usually get life insurance with COPD, but the type of policy and the price depend on how severe your lung disease is, whether you still smoke, and whether a doctor has prescribed oxygen. This guide maps each stage of COPD to the coverage that is realistic, explains the health questions that decide final expense applications, and shows published sample prices.

Octans Insurance is an independent agency based in Massachusetts. Our licensed agents compare 120+ carriers, and the gap between carriers is wide for lung conditions. One company may decline the same file another approves, so shopping for life insurance with COPD is mostly about finding the right carrier for your stage.

Can you get life insurance with COPD?

Yes, in most cases. COPD is common, so underwriters see applications for life insurance with COPD every day. The CDC says nearly 16 million U.S. adults have COPD, and that it is one of the top 10 causes of death in the country.

The NHLBI describes COPD as damage to the airways or other parts of the lung that blocks airflow and makes breathing hard. It includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and most people have a mix of both. There is no cure, but treatment can help people stay active and slow the disease.

How do insurers rate it? Each carrier sets its own rules, but life insurance with COPD usually costs more than standard rates, and severe cases are often declined. MoneyGeek (updated October 8, 2026) says insurers still offer moderate cases standard underwriting “at higher table ratings,” while continuous oxygen therapy leads most traditional insurers to decline or heavily restrict coverage. Life insurance with emphysema is rated the same way, because emphysema is a form of COPD.

Life insurance with COPD by severity

Severity drives every decision about life insurance with COPD. Doctors grade COPD with spirometry, a breathing test. The NHLBI calls spirometry the main test for COPD. The key number is FEV1, the amount of air you can force out in one second, compared with what is predicted for someone your age, sex and height.

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) uses four grades. A study published through the National Library of Medicine summarizes them:

The treatment column comes from the NHLBI treatment page, which ties short-acting inhalers to mild COPD, daily long-acting bronchodilators to moderate or severe COPD, and oxygen to low blood oxygen levels. Your own treatment plan may differ.

Here is how those tiers typically map to life insurance with COPD. This is a general pattern from the carrier guides cited on this page, not a promise from any insurer.

Each carrier draws its own lines between these tiers, so the same spirometry result can earn different offers at different companies.

What underwriters check in a COPD file

For fully underwritten life insurance with COPD, expect the insurer to review your records in detail. MoneyGeek notes that insurers request attending physician statements, meaning records sent directly from your doctors, when an application involves a complex medical history. Here is what underwriters look for.

• Spirometry results. FEV1 is the clearest measure of severity, so bring your most recent test.
• How stable your lung function is. Underwriters compare tests over time; a steady FEV1 reads better than a falling one.
• Hospital stays and flare-ups. MoneyGeek suggests waiting at least 12 months after a COPD hospitalization before you apply, and notes that some insurers consider applications after six months at higher ratings.
• Medications. Rescue inhalers, maintenance inhalers, steroids and oxygen show up in prescription checks. They tell the underwriter how severe the disease is.
• Other conditions. Other lung problems weigh heavily. MoneyGeek says chest x-ray or CT findings showing emphysema, fibrosis or structural lung damage factor into the risk assessment. Underwriters also commonly ask about heart disease and abnormal ECG or chest x-ray results.
• Tobacco use. This often matters as much as the lung test. See the next section.

Every application for life insurance with COPD is also checked against your MIB file. MIB is a consumer reporting agency that keeps coded underwriting information from member insurers. You can request your file free once a year, and MIB says carriers cannot decide based on that file alone without further investigation.

Smoking, the 12-month rule and the COPD double rating

Most COPD in the U.S. is tied to smoking. The CDC says smoking causes as many as 8 out of 10 COPD-related deaths. It also says as many as 1 in 4 Americans with COPD never smoked, and that quitting slows the disease for people already diagnosed.

For life insurance with COPD, your tobacco status sets the base rate before the lung disease is even considered. Policygenius says you must be tobacco-free for at least 12 months to five years, depending on the insurer, to get nonsmoker rates. MoneyGeek says most insurers want 12 months smoke-free.

That creates a double rating for smokers with COPD. The carrier starts from its higher smoker rate, then adds a table rating for the lung disease. Policygenius says table ratings generally add 25% to the base rate for each step down the table.

Hypothetical example: Say a carrier’s standard nonsmoker premium for you is $100 a month and its standard smoker premium is $250. A Table 4 rating adds 4 × 25% = 100%. As a nonsmoker, you would pay $100 × 2 = $200. As a smoker, you would pay $250 × 2 = $500. The smoker pays $500 − $200 = $300 more each month for the same coverage. These are illustration numbers, not quotes.

The published gap is large even without COPD. MoneyGeek’s sample for a 40-year-old buying $500,000 of 20-year term shows smokers paying $148 (women) and $194 (men) a month, which is $96 and $128 above its nonsmoker averages of $52 and $66. For life insurance with COPD, quitting is the biggest rate factor you control. Our life insurance for smokers guide covers how insurers verify tobacco use, and Medicare quit-smoking benefits explains free help for people on Medicare.

Life insurance on oxygen

Oxygen is the single biggest dividing line for life insurance with COPD. Life insurance on oxygen is possible, but the options narrow sharply. The NHLBI says oxygen therapy is used when a condition causes blood oxygen levels to be too low. To an underwriter, a home oxygen prescription signals advanced disease.

• Traditional coverage: MoneyGeek says continuous oxygen therapy signals advanced COPD and that most traditional insurers will decline these applications or heavily restrict coverage.
• Final expense: An agency summary of Mutual of Omaha’s Living Promise questions (October 2024) asks whether you have been advised by a medical professional to use oxygen equipment to help breathing, excluding sleep apnea. A “yes” makes you ineligible for that product.
• Prescribed but unused: Choice Mutual says that if you have been prescribed home oxygen, even if you don’t use it, you’ll have to accept a waiting period with most carriers.
• CPAP for sleep apnea: Choice Mutual says multiple companies offer no-waiting-period coverage when oxygen is only for sleep apnea.

There are exceptions. Choice Mutual’s COPD page lists Transamerica as accepting oxygen use for final expense. MoneyGeek notes that a Transamerica guide treats oxygen use in the past two years as a possible decline, which likely reflects a different product. Rules differ by product, even within one company.

If you are on oxygen today, life insurance with COPD will most often mean guaranteed issue. Your agent can still check the few carriers with oxygen-friendly rules before you settle.

Burial insurance with COPD: the final expense questions

Burial insurance with COPD is where most seniors land, and it is the most common form of life insurance with COPD after age 65. These small whole life policies skip the exam and use yes-or-no health questions. How COPD is asked matters more than the diagnosis itself.

In the October 2024 Living Promise summary, the question asks whether you have ever been diagnosed with or treated for chronic lung disease, including COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema or sarcoidosis. A “yes” may qualify you for the graded plan if the prescription drug check comes back with no issues. A separate question asks about treatment for chronic cough in the past 12 months.

Other carriers are friendlier. Choice Mutual’s COPD page (updated March 9, 2026) lists carriers that may approve COPD with no waiting period:

This list is one agency’s reading of each carrier’s rules and can change. Availability also varies by state, so ask your agent which of these carriers can quote you where you live. Our burial insurance and final expense insurance pages explain how these policies work in general.

What does life insurance with COPD cost?

No public table prices life insurance with COPD directly, because every file is underwritten on its own facts. The figures below are published samples for each product type. They show the range you might see, not your price.

All rates are monthly. Sample rates only, not a quote or an offer of coverage. Your premium depends on age, sex, health, tobacco use, state, carrier and underwriting. The level plan rates are non-tobacco; smokers pay more. The MoneyGeek row is an average for its Fair class, not a COPD-specific price, and MoneyGeek shows $114 (women) and $150 (men) at age 50 on the same basis.

Hypothetical example: life insurance with COPD at age 75

Hypothetical example: Frank is 75. He has moderate COPD and uses a daily maintenance inhaler. He quit smoking four years ago, has not been hospitalized, and wants $10,000 for his funeral.

• With Living Promise, his COPD answer points to the graded plan. The sample graded rate for a 75-year-old man is $113 a month.
• The same sample table lists the level plan at $97. If another carrier approves him for level coverage at a similar price, the gap is $113 − $97 = $16 a month, or $16 × 12 = $192 a year. That carrier’s actual price for life insurance with COPD would differ.
• The level policy pays the full $10,000 from day one. Under the graded plan, a death from natural causes in the first two years refunds 110% of premiums, per Choice Mutual.

Now say Frank’s doctor had prescribed home oxygen. Living Promise would be off the table, and he would likely buy guaranteed issue. Mutual of Omaha’s chart shows $118.99 a month for $10,000 at 75. If he died of natural causes in month 20, his family would receive 20 × $118.99 = $2,379.80 in premiums, times 1.10 = $2,617.78. From the start of year three, the full $10,000 would be payable.

Should you apply now or wait?

With many conditions, waiting helps. With COPD, it often doesn’t. The NHLBI notes that COPD has no cure, and lung function tends to decline over time. A file rarely looks better next year unless something specific changes.

Age raises the price too. On the Living Promise sample table, the level rate for $10,000 rises from $70 a month for a 70-year-old man to $97 at 75. That is $97 − $70 = $27 more a month, or $27 × 12 = $324 more a year, before any change in health.

There are good reasons to wait a short time, though:

• A recent hospital stay. Passing the 12-month mark can reopen level coverage with carriers that exclude recent hospitalizations.
• A recent quit date. Reaching 12 months tobacco-free can move you from smoker to nonsmoker rates with many insurers.
• A pending test. Applications commonly ask about tests or treatment advised but not yet done. Finish them first.

If you need protection while you wait, a guaranteed issue policy can fill the gap. You can apply for level life insurance with COPD later and decide then whether to keep both. Shopping life insurance with COPD early, then re-shopping after a milestone, usually beats waiting with no coverage at all.

When guaranteed issue makes sense with COPD

Guaranteed issue life insurance asks no health questions. It is the honest fit for life insurance with COPD when you are on oxygen, were recently hospitalized, have a test or treatment pending, or have other serious conditions on top of COPD.

The tradeoff is the waiting period. Choice Mutual says all guaranteed issue policies have a waiting period of 2 to 3 years. A non-accidental death during that time typically refunds premiums plus interest, while accidental death is generally paid in full from day one. Benefits are small: Mutual of Omaha’s chart lists $2,000 to $25,000 at issue ages 45 to 85.

Before you accept a waiting period, ask an agent to check simplified issue life insurance with COPD first. If your COPD is mild and you don’t use oxygen, our no exam life insurance guide shows what is possible. If not, see our full guaranteed issue life insurance guide.

Checklist: applying for life insurance with COPD

1. Before you apply for life insurance with COPD, get your latest spirometry report, including your FEV1 percentage.
2. List every lung medicine: rescue inhalers, maintenance inhalers, steroids and nebulizer solutions.
3. Write down the dates of any COPD hospital stays or ER visits in the past two years.
4. Confirm whether a doctor has ever prescribed home oxygen, and whether it was for COPD or sleep apnea only.
5. Count the months since your last cigarette or other tobacco or nicotine use.
6. Finish any test or treatment your doctor has recommended before you apply.
7. Note other conditions, such as heart disease, that underwriters will weigh together with COPD.
8. Request your free MIB consumer file if you applied for coverage in the past seven years.
9. Answer every application question truthfully. The California Department of Insurance warns that during the contestable period, usually one or two years, an insurer can cancel a policy or refuse a claim over untrue statements.
10. Compare carriers through our life insurance quotes page or call (617) 935-9220.

FAQ: life insurance with COPD

Can I get life insurance with emphysema?

Yes, in many cases. Emphysema is a form of COPD, so carriers usually rate it the same way. MoneyGeek reports that one carrier treats mild emphysema in a non-tobacco user favorably, while another postpones or declines emphysema with oxygen use or a hospital stay in the past year. The Living Promise summary groups it with COPD and chronic bronchitis in one question.

Does asthma count as COPD on an application?

Usually not. Carriers list asthma separately, and it is usually rated more gently. MoneyGeek says mild asthma with occasional rescue inhaler use and no hospital stays typically qualifies at or near standard rates, while COPD more often brings a table rating. Answer the questions exactly as written, and tell your agent if a doctor has used both terms.

How long after a COPD flare-up should I apply?

If the flare-up put you in the hospital, MoneyGeek suggests waiting at least 12 months for traditional coverage. Some final expense carriers on Choice Mutual’s list also exclude hospital stays in the last 12 months.

Will life insurance with COPD pay if I die from COPD?

Yes, if the policy is in force and your application was truthful. A level policy pays the full benefit from day one. Graded and guaranteed issue policies pay full benefits for natural-cause deaths only after their waiting period ends.

Can I get coverage if I still smoke?

Often, yes, at smoker rates. Life insurance with COPD is still available to current smokers, and Choice Mutual lists several final expense carriers that accept tobacco users with COPD. Expect to pay more, and ask to be re-rated once you have been tobacco-free for 12 months or longer.

Keep Reading: Related Guides

• Life insurance after heart attack
• Life insurance for smokers
• Burial insurance
• Guaranteed issue life insurance
• Medicare quit-smoking benefits
• Life insurance with sleep apnea
• Life insurance with asthma

Important: Octans Insurance agents are licensed in the states in which they operate. Coverage availability and rates may vary by state. Premium examples, when provided, are illustrative samples from published sources, not quotes. Final rates are determined by the insurance carrier based on underwriting and applicable policy criteria. Policy terms, exclusions, limitations, riders, and availability vary by carrier and state.

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