Life Insurance Marijuana: Can You Smoke Weed & Get Affordable Life Insurance?

Life Insurance Marijuana use is a topic that a lot of people want clarification on. There are some very legitimate reasons to use pot as it has many medicinal qualities.

Life insurance for medical marijuana, however, is approached with caution.

“…insurers are treading carefully. Sun Life covers pain associated with cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV and palliative care for serious illnesses; chemotherapy-induced nausea; spasticity from MS; and anorexia due to HIV.”

 

Why Canadian Insurers are Wary of Covering Medical Marijuana 

As you can see life insurance companies aren’t jumping on any bandwagons. That’s because there isn’t a lot of research in this area to back up the safety of Marijuana.

Marijuana has been a banned substance. Which made purchasing it for these reasons difficult. The good news is legalization is about to change all this.

If you want the latest news, Policy Architects agents have their fingers on the pulse of legalization! We are following underwriting closely to see how this monumental event impacts YOUR premiums over time! 

Marijuana use is a topic that a lot of people want clarification on. There are some very legitimate reasons to use pot as it has many medicinal qualities. Life insurance for medical marijuana, however, is approached with caution. 

“…insurers are treading carefully. Sun Life covers pain associated with cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV and palliative care for serious illnesses; chemotherapy-induced nausea; spasticity from MS; and anorexia due to HIV.” Why Canadian Insurers are Wary of Covering Medical Marijuana 

As you can see life insurance companies aren’t jumping on any bandwagons. That’s because there isn’t a lot of research in this area to back up the safety of Marijuana.

Marijuana was a banned substance. Which made purchasing it for these reasons difficult. The good news is legalization changed this. 

It will be interesting to see how things unfold over the coming years. 

Although there are many Canadians who are excited by the prospect of walking into a cannabis store or shopping for marijuana products online, there are others who are worried.

They voice concerns about the implementation of the new policy and whether the government’s distribution plan is ill-conceived.

No matter how you slice it and dice it, legalized recreational marijuana is here to stay and we’re going to have to learn how to deal with it.

As for the heated debate about the best way to distribute and regulate cannabis…

…I’ll leave that for the professionals to sort out. What I want to examine right now is the relationship between Marijuana and life insurance.

Marijuana, associated with jazz musicians and edgy culture, was vilified by a lot of the talking heads. There was a lot of concern that widespread use would influence young people and lead them astray.

In the 1960’s, marijuana’s popularity skyrocketed among middle-class college students. In an effort to counter this, President Nixon’s Controlled Substances Act of 1970 was passed which classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug.

Effectively putting it in the same class as heroin and cocaine.

Ooof.

Of course, this led to the war on drugs in the 60’s and 70’s. Sigh – and we all know how that ended.

As you can imagine – at this juncture –  if you applied for life insurance – using weed was a serious problem. 

Put it this way, if a policy was issued and the insurance company later learned that you were a marijuana user, it’s likely they would cancel it. 

Thankfully as time wore on life insurance companies loosened the reigns. In the 80’s & 90’s, insurers figured out they had to change with the times.

As recreational drug use became more and more acceptable in society their approach shifted. 

These sentiments were facilitated by early studies that indicated the paranoia around Reefer Madness was unfounded. Recreational marijuana use wasn’t the one-way path to hard drug use people feared. 

Let’s remember, life Insurance companies are in the business of making money and mitigating risk. If an increasing percentage of their customers begin using marijuana as a recreational drug, they need to know what that means for their bottom line. 

The next question is how should they underwrite something they can’t properly assess? 

Well, that’s easy! 

Just lump marijuana users in with smokers…

…or at least this is the way they handled underwriting up until 2016. 

If you disclosed any marijuana use you were automatically categorized as a smoker and as such, paid much higher premiums.

Funnily enough, if you smoked no more than one cigar per month at this time, you’d be eligible for standard non-smoker rates! 

This is still standard policy among most life insurance companies in Canada. 

When the Canadian government decriminalized cannabis for medicinal use, life insurance companies began to treat marijuana users differently.

They no longer considered marijuana use to be a high-risk activity. Since 2016, almost all major carriers offer standard non-smoker rates to casual marijuana smokers…

…provided they don’t use any tobacco-related products with their pot.

…and preferred rates if you smoke no more than two times per week.

Hey, Minnesota Life may offer you preferred rates if you smoke marijuana 24 times per year or less.

I personally think it’s VERY likely Canadian Carriers will follow suit, it’s just a matter of time.

Canada Protection Plan announced it will give marijuana users non-smoking rates if they smoke marijuana no more than four times per week.

Not to mention the fact, Assumption Life’s Simplified-Issue allows “frequent” marijuana smokers to obtain non-smoker rates with no definition of what “frequent” means.

Their eligibility question reads: “In the past 12 months, have you used any substance or product containing tobacco, nicotine, or marijuana mixed with nicotine or e-cigarettes?”  

If you can answer ‘no’ to this question you’re eligible for non-smoker rates. Which means there’s no doubt that change is in the wind.

In a nutshell, Canadian life insurance companies want to make some dough so there’s competition for this market.

Edibles aren’t viewed the same by all insurers. 

Some treat edibles, vaping and smoking marijuana the same and throw you in the smoking pool. 

While others are more lenient about consumption. 

For example, some insurers limit you to 2 – 4 cannabis usages per week. If you partake in more than 4 you may still retain your non smoking status but a rating might be applied. 

It really varies. Some even allow unlimited edibles consumption. 

The key is to work with an independent life insurance agent to find the right company for your situation. 

We’re up to date on all the latest developments with respect to underwriting and cannabis. We can help you find the most lenient carrier for Life Insurance Marijuana. 

Hey come on man, now that recreational marijuana use is legal across Canada, there’s really no reason to disclose my usage…

…right? 

Wrong I would never recommend approaching life insurance this way. 

For argument’s sake, let’s assume you’re an occasional pot smoker. How likely is it that you’ll pass the life insurance drug test?

Typically, when you apply for traditional life insurance you undergo a health exam, which requires blood and urine analysis as well as: 

• Blood pressure check
• A battery of questions about your medical history, etc.

The blood test can detect Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of the active ingredients in marijuana anywhere from 3 to 14 days after use.  

A urinalysis test for life insurance reveals marijuana use as far back as one month or more depending on your frequency of use.

So let’s say you think you’re in the clear. Why should you tell them you smoke the occasional joint? 

Even if you stand a good chance of getting under the wire, is it worth the risk? What happens when you’re caught misrepresenting the facts on your life insurance application?

You’re jeopardizing your coverage and your family’s security. Seriously premiums are expensive and what if it’s all for naught?

Did you know that even if your death is unrelated to marijuana use, the insurance company will deny a claim if you lie on your application? This means ultimately your beneficiaries won’t see a dime if they can prove you lied.

Secondly, have you ever tried to apply for a credit card with a bad credit rating?

Well, it’s the same for life insurance. When the company finds out you’ve made a false statement on your application, they report you to the Medical Information Bureau (MIB).

If you try and apply to another insurer, they’ll find out about your lies through the MIB and reject your application.

When it comes to life insurance honesty is always the best policy.

With things changing on a daily basis, no post on life insurance and marijuana would be complete without mentioning legalization’s impact on medical marijuana and health insurance. Here are some highlights: 

• Sun Life offers medical marijuana coverage through its private health insurance plan 
• SSQ Insurance just announced last month it’s offering group plan members coverage of medical marijuana expenses as early as January of 2019.
• Manulife covers medical cannabis use 
• Desjardin covers medical cannabis use 

“Under the terms of a new agreement, Group HEALTH and Zenabis will offer Canadian employers the opportunity to provide” comprehensive medical cannabis coverage in their employee benefit plans.