Agent Owner, Gilmore Insurance Services, Marysville, Washington State
You can be denined for smoking pot, just depends on the company underwriting guidelines that you are applying with. Compared to other drugs most carriers don't consider pot to be quite as an immediate decline. Most that I know that will underwrite pot smokers, treat the pot smoker as a tobbaco smoker which usually bumps the premium up considerably.
You can be denied life insurance for smoking pot, but it is certainly not a given.
If you apply for a nonmed policy that requires "no" answers to all the questions on the application, saying "yes" to the drug question could cause a decline.
Some companies simply lump marijuana with all other illegal drugs, and will decline for any marijuana use.
Most companies will decline if marijuana is used by an addict, or someone who has had treatment for substance abuse in the past few years.
However, there are many companies that will approve at standard to preferred rates, as long as the marijuana use does not affect their lives in a destructive fashion.
President, The Firm of Steven H. Kobrin, LUTCF, 6-05 Saddle River Rd #103, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
Yes, indeed. Here is a sure fire way to get denied life insurance for smoking pot:
Smoke it. Don’t disclose this on your application. Then test positive on your insurance exam for marijuana.
You will notice that the key to your downfall here is not disclosing it on your application.
Trying to pull a fast one on the underwriter is a great way to get denied.
And by the way: don’t think about not disclosing it on your application, and then waiting a long time so it won’t show up in your lab specimen. That’s insurance fraud. Not a good way to start a relationship with a life insurance carrier.
Now you are going to ask, “What if I do disclose it? Will I get accepted?”
Not only might you get accepted, but if you apply with the right company, you could get approved at preferred non-smoker rates!
How do you like that?
It all depends on the amount and frequency used. And you have to apply with a company who has very lenient underwriting guidelines for pot smokers. Some do; a lot don’t.
But there is more to the story here.
If you smoke cigarettes as well as pot, you will end up with a smoker rating. Don’t forget that.
Another item: many people smoke marijuana as a form of self-medication. They have trouble sleeping, so they smoke pot. They feel anxious, so they smoke pot. They feel a little depressed, so they smoke pot.
If you have a history of dealing with these issues, then the underwriter will look a bit more closely at your marijuana use. If it appears that you do have medical concerns that are not being addressed adequately with medical treatment, he may not be confident that your pot smoking is purely recreational. That may affect his willingness to make an offer, and if he does so, at a low rate.
By the way: I have helped people get policies who intake marijuana through a vaporizer, as opposed to smoking it. That can add an additional complication to underwriting. Some underwriters feel that is a more intense form of ingestion and has a more severe impact on your body.
Something else for you to think about: any brushes with the law in relation to your marijuana use must be disclosed on your application. Remember that your legal record is part and parcel of the underwriting process.
Lots to think about here, Makes you want to light up, doesn’t it?
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If you apply for a nonmed policy that requires "no" answers to all the questions on the application, saying "yes" to the drug question could cause a decline.
Some companies simply lump marijuana with all other illegal drugs, and will decline for any marijuana use.
Most companies will decline if marijuana is used by an addict, or someone who has had treatment for substance abuse in the past few years.
However, there are many companies that will approve at standard to preferred rates, as long as the marijuana use does not affect their lives in a destructive fashion.
Smoke it. Don’t disclose this on your application. Then test positive on your insurance exam for marijuana.
You will notice that the key to your downfall here is not disclosing it on your application.
Trying to pull a fast one on the underwriter is a great way to get denied.
And by the way: don’t think about not disclosing it on your application, and then waiting a long time so it won’t show up in your lab specimen. That’s insurance fraud. Not a good way to start a relationship with a life insurance carrier.
Now you are going to ask, “What if I do disclose it? Will I get accepted?”
Not only might you get accepted, but if you apply with the right company, you could get approved at preferred non-smoker rates!
How do you like that?
It all depends on the amount and frequency used. And you have to apply with a company who has very lenient underwriting guidelines for pot smokers. Some do; a lot don’t.
But there is more to the story here.
If you smoke cigarettes as well as pot, you will end up with a smoker rating. Don’t forget that.
Another item: many people smoke marijuana as a form of self-medication. They have trouble sleeping, so they smoke pot. They feel anxious, so they smoke pot. They feel a little depressed, so they smoke pot.
If you have a history of dealing with these issues, then the underwriter will look a bit more closely at your marijuana use. If it appears that you do have medical concerns that are not being addressed adequately with medical treatment, he may not be confident that your pot smoking is purely recreational. That may affect his willingness to make an offer, and if he does so, at a low rate.
By the way: I have helped people get policies who intake marijuana through a vaporizer, as opposed to smoking it. That can add an additional complication to underwriting. Some underwriters feel that is a more intense form of ingestion and has a more severe impact on your body.
Something else for you to think about: any brushes with the law in relation to your marijuana use must be disclosed on your application. Remember that your legal record is part and parcel of the underwriting process.
Lots to think about here, Makes you want to light up, doesn’t it?