Marijuana and life insurance | Bankrate

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Life insurance for marijuana users may be a little complex, but finding an affordable policy if you smoke, vape or otherwise may be less challenging than you think. While you may pay more for your coverage than someone who doesn’t use marijuana, coverage is typically widely available. The best way to find life insurance if you use marijuana is to obtain quotes from multiple insurers or work with an independent agent or broker who can shop on your behalf. Insurers evaluate marijuana use differently, so the premium you’re offered from one carrier may differ vastly from another. Bankrate’s insurance team explains how marijuana is considered by the life insurance industry and what you can do to increase your chances at getting affordable coverage.

Does marijuana use impact life insurance rates?

Every insurance company has its own rules and requirements when underwriting policies, and these differ from carrier to carrier. Generally, however, insurers use a ranking system that divides applicants into a specific pool, based on their characteristics. Although the names can vary slightly from company to company, the highest category, reserved for healthy individuals who merit low rates, is preferred plus.

Common life insurance classifications include:

• Preferred plus (represents a person with the lowest risk within an age group)
• Preferred
• Standard plus
• Standard (represents an average person within an age group)
• Substandard (represents a person with higher risk than average within an age group)

Tobacco users typically have their own classifications of either preferred tobacco or standard tobacco. Use of cigarettes, which increases risk of diseases including cancer and stroke, will generally play a role in determining your premium. Some insurance companies may place cannabis smokers in same category, even if the health risks of cannabis are less defined. Other carriers may have a category just for marijuana users.

Keep in mind that there are numerous other factors that insurers take into consideration when determining rates. Occasional use of marijuana may not matter as much if you are fairly young and healthy and don’t engage in risky endeavors, such as binge drinking. Other factors that play a role include your gender, occupation, your family’s history of illness, your criminal record and your driving record. Occasional use of marijuana, with no other mitigating factors, is unlikely to matter as much as if you had, for example, been convicted of driving under the influence.

Medicinal vs. recreational marijuana use

If you are treating an illness with marijuana, your insurer is likely to put more emphasis on the illness and its possible consequences rather than the marijuana use. If your use is recreational only, how often you use and the method you partake will typically affect what risk classification you can qualify for.

Form of marijuana use

How marijuana is consumed can also play a role in how it affects life insurance rates. Depending on the marijuana delivery method — vaping, smoking, edibles, etc. — there can be a range of potential impacts on a life insurance policy. Non-smoking forms of consumption are generally viewed more favorably than smoking, and may impact your rate less.

The frequency of use

How often a person uses marijuana can also play a role in how life insurance companies determine rate impacts. Companies may decide less frequent use may be a lower health risk. Inversely, more regular consumption of marijuana may be a higher health risk.

How to address marijuana on life insurance applications

Most life insurance applications will ask about tobacco and drug use. Your best strategy when they do is to be completely honest. Life insurance medical exams, which are used for many types of policy, typically test for the presence of THC.

If you state on your policy that you don’t use marijuana, but proof of it comes up during the underwriting process, the insurance can decide to decline your application. If they don’t catch it and approve your policy, there is still a two-year contestability period to consider. During this time, insurance companies have the right to investigate and deny claims due to misrepresentation or fraud. At this time, if they discover you purposely withheld information on your application, they could terminate your policy, increase your premium or even deny benefits to your beneficiaries if you have already passed away.

What are the best life insurance companies for marijuana users?

When you are looking for the most affordable coverage for your needs, your best strategy may be to ask for quotes from a range of insurers. To ensure the quote is as accurate as possible, it’s important to also disclose your marijuana use when requesting. As we noted above, every carrier uses its own method for determining premiums, and some may view marijuana use more leniently than others. Don’t be discouraged if the first company you ask gives you a high rate — you are likely to find lower rates by querying multiple companies.

Another option that may be helpful is to work with an independent agent or broker. Independent agents and brokers work with many companies, and will have a good understanding of how each one rates marijuana users. They can also answer any questions you may have about coverage. For example, if you are uncertain about what sort of coverage you need, they can explain the pros and cons of term policies, whole life, universal life and more.

Frequently asked questions

• Will marijuana use raise my life insurance premiums?
  

  It may, but it depends on the insurance company you choose. The details of your usage matter, too. Social marijuana use may not matter to one insurer, while another may deem it high risk. Remember that marijuana use is only one of several factors that insurers consider when determining rates. Every company is different and you will only find out what your options are by getting quotes from a range of companies.

• What happens if I start using marijuana after I’ve already gotten a life insurance policy?
  

  If you start using marijuana after you have purchased life insurance, there should be no impact on your premium. Insurers only consider the results of the health exam and any health-related questions that they ask at the time of your purchase. Note, however, that if you buy another policy in the future, your cannabis use will need to be disclosed and could impact future rates.

• Do life insurance companies test for marijuana use?
  

  When you apply for life insurance, some insurers may require you to take a medical exam — which might include giving urine and blood samples. If THC is found in your bloodstream and you didn’t disclose marijuana used, an insurer may deny your application.