Does life insurance test for weed?

A life insurance policy is essentially a contract between you and the insurance company. When you apply for a life insurance policy your application goes through the underwriting process. This is done so that the company can determine the correct amount of risk, how much your premiums could be and your potential coverage amount. During that time, the company looks at areas such as your health information, family medical history, lifestyle, occupation, etc. Some insurance companies require a full medical exam. Others don’t require them, like Wysh.

Now when it comes to weed, there’s not an official “life insurance drug test” that’s part of the underwriting process. According to our underwriting expert, however, insurance companies typically have the capability to test on a “for cause” basis. That means that if the underwriter suspects the applicant is lying about their drug use, they can request a drug test. The test itself is a full drug screen for opiates and other recreational drugs. 

But what level of THC do life insurance companies test for? It’s less levels and more so confirming that the information in your application is accurate. The bigger your lies the more chances you give the insurance company cause to investigate. Lying about marijuana use for life insurance isn’t a good idea as it can affect more than just the application.

Can you get life insurance if you smoke weed?

Do life insurance companies test for weed? Not really, no. When it comes to marijuana, insurance companies more so look at a couple—namely how often you smoke, whether or not it’s medicinal or recreational and how you ingest the marijuana. The first two points can help the company understand any underlying medical conditions they would need to know about.

Medical marijuana is mostly used for pain management for a variety of chronic conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and cancer, among numerous other conditions. What condition you use the marijuana for will probably have a bigger impact on your monthly costs, class ratings or even application status.

If you smoke fairly regularly or a lot then you’ll probably be classified under the smoker class rating. This category is for people who inhale smoke at regular intervals. Smokers include the use of cigarettes, marijuana smokers, vapers, hookah users, cigar chompers, etc. If you inhale smoke then you’d go under the smoker class rating.

Non-smoker vs Smoker life insurance rates

If you’re classified under the smoker class rating, there’s a chance you may pay higher monthly costs for your habit. Just take a look at these example rates of how smokers and non-smokers stake up.

Smoking can easily double or even triple your rates when compared with a non-smoking policyholder. Even for something as recreational as marijuana, it’s still smoke. Regular and frequent marijuana use can lead to a variety of effects including breathing problems, increased heart rates, nausea as well as long-term mental health effects. This isn’t the case with every marijuana user, but companies want to assess your particular level of risk.

Can you lie about smoking for life insurance?

From jump we’re gonna say that it’s not a good idea to lie on your life insurance application just to get a policy. Lying to get better monthly costs could end up costing you a lot more. Intentionally falsifying information on your application is a form of insurance fraud. The consequences for insurance fraud can be as simply as your application being rejected or your coverage being denied. Large enough lies could result in criminal court!

Lying about marijuana use for life insurance in particular could see consequences like increases in your premiums or a policy rejection. If you sneak your application through but die of lung- or smoke-related reasons, your insurance company may not pay out your policy death benefit to your beneficiaries. While it may not seem like a lot in the moment filling out the application, the results could be bigger than you anticipate.

Life insurance for marijuana smokers

Life insurance for weed smokers may come with some things to keep in mind, but it’s not all doom-and-gloom. Depending on your usage and the company, you may be classified as a non-smoker. “May” being the operative word here. For example, some companies may classify “occasional” marijuana use as one or two times a month. But different companies have different levels of risk they’re willing to accept. The important thing is to shop around and compare prices before making a final decision.

What about edibles?

Why, you offering? I mean…look. If you take edibles to address a medical concern, the insurance company will probably be more interested in that. It’s likely that ingesting marijuana in the form of edibles will net you nonsmoker rates. Especially since you’re not, y’know, smoking it. But different companies have different levels of risk when it comes to marijuana usage, edibles included. Some companies may not make a distinction between ingesting marijuana via smoke or edibles. In that case you’d be classified as a smoker and would receive smoker rates.

Will life insurance companies alert the police?

Many people avoid applying for life insurance simply because they smoke dank kush regularly and are afraid the companies they’re applying with will alert law enforcement on them. It’s a reasonable thought. However, it’s not true that life insurance companies will contact law enforcement about any marijuana usage. Companies hold all application responses confidential in accordance with all applicable laws. When you apply, the company will disclose up front how your application info will be used and shared, if at all. Another reason why you shouldn’t lie on your life insurance application.

Lying about marijuana use for life insurance—don’t do it

This is some of the best advice we can offer. The best thing you can do on a life insurance application is be honest. And be honest about everything, even marijuana use. If you smoke weed every now-and-again, it’s better to just say that. If you smoke every day, then it’s better to say that. If you eat one pot brownie a month, share it—I mean, be honest about it. Being honest is about protecting you. You don’t want to have your monthly costs affected and you don’t want to lose out on coverage. Most importantly, you don’t want your coverage to be affected when your beneficiaries need it most. It’s always better to be honest.

Life insurance from Wysh

Comparing company prices is a key strategy when looking for a policy. And life insurance from Wysh features first-class policy options and top-tier customer service that’s redefining how term life insurance works. You can check out our free Wysh Builder tool today. It’s a fun and visual way you can create the perfect policy for you and your needs. Plus there’s no application required to try it out. If you like what you see, then take a couple of minutes to apply. We’ll see you on the other side.

TL; DR

• Life insurance companies can test for weed and other recreational drugs on a “for cause” basis—basically if they think you weren’t honest on you application
• Marijuana usage can get you a smoker class rating.
• Smokers may face double or triple the monthly costs than non-smokers
• Consequences for lying on a life insurance application is considered insurance fraud. You may experience rejection, coverage denial or even criminal court.