Amy Danise is the managing editor for the insurance section at Forbes Advisor, which encompasses auto, home, renters, life, pet, travel, health and small business insurance. She is a highly experienced editor, writer and team leader with an extensive.
Amy Danise Managing Editor, InsuranceAmy Danise is the managing editor for the insurance section at Forbes Advisor, which encompasses auto, home, renters, life, pet, travel, health and small business insurance. She is a highly experienced editor, writer and team leader with an extensive.
Written By Amy Danise Managing Editor, InsuranceAmy Danise is the managing editor for the insurance section at Forbes Advisor, which encompasses auto, home, renters, life, pet, travel, health and small business insurance. She is a highly experienced editor, writer and team leader with an extensive.
Amy Danise Managing Editor, InsuranceAmy Danise is the managing editor for the insurance section at Forbes Advisor, which encompasses auto, home, renters, life, pet, travel, health and small business insurance. She is a highly experienced editor, writer and team leader with an extensive.
Managing Editor, Insurance Ashlee Valentine Deputy Editor, InsuranceAshlee is an insurance editor, journalist and business professional with an MBA and more than 17 years of hands-on experience in both business and personal finance. She is passionate about empowering others to protect life's most important assets. Wh.
Ashlee Valentine Deputy Editor, InsuranceAshlee is an insurance editor, journalist and business professional with an MBA and more than 17 years of hands-on experience in both business and personal finance. She is passionate about empowering others to protect life's most important assets. Wh.
Ashlee Valentine Deputy Editor, InsuranceAshlee is an insurance editor, journalist and business professional with an MBA and more than 17 years of hands-on experience in both business and personal finance. She is passionate about empowering others to protect life's most important assets. Wh.
Ashlee Valentine Deputy Editor, InsuranceAshlee is an insurance editor, journalist and business professional with an MBA and more than 17 years of hands-on experience in both business and personal finance. She is passionate about empowering others to protect life's most important assets. Wh.
| Deputy Editor, Insurance
Updated: Sep 13, 2023, 9:31am
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Marijuana is approved for medical use in 38 states and recreational use in 23 states, with continued growth expected. As the acceptance and legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use continues to rise, cannabis users may be interested in how their life insurance could be affected.
Getting life insurance as a marijuana user is possible, but you may experience an unwanted side effect: higher life insurance rates.
Right after use, marijuana impairs judgment and short-term memory. It also alters perception, making it dangerous to drive, among other activities.
We couldn’t find definitive studies that prove that using marijuana will reduce a person’s life expectancy. But there are studies proving an association between marijuana and psychiatric disorders. Long-term cannabis use, from age 18 into a person’s 20s and later, is also associated with health problems at age 50.
Increases in life insurance quotes due to marijuana use will vary based on your age, gender and amount of coverage requested. That makes it hard to pin down an average increase. Here’s how much average quotes go up for 30- and 40-year-old men and women who are shopping for a 20-year term life insurance policy of $500,000.
Male age 30 Male age 40 Female age 30 Female age 40Methodology: We averaged the five lowest life insurance quotes we found online for life insurance buyers in excellent health. Averages are based on a 20-year $500,000 term life insurance policy.
See More See LessWhen you apply for life insurance, you’ll likely face a question about whether and how often you use marijuana. Your answer will help group you into a health class, such as super-preferred, preferred or standard. This will help determine your life insurance rate, along with your answers to many other health and lifestyle questions.
“A lot of people are reluctant to admit recreational marijuana use,” says Robert Bland, CEO of LifeQuotes, an online life insurance agency.
Occasional marijuana users can sometimes qualify for non-smoking rates, depending on the company. This is key, because getting classified as a smoker will mean higher life insurance quotes. Occasional use is sometimes defined as only one or two times a month. Each life insurance company decides its own parameters for what’s “occasional.”
“The basic adage is, if you smoke marijuana, you’re a smoker,” says Bland. “So when people hear that they tend to say they don’t smoke or it was during a vacation as a teen to Boulder, Colorado.”
Whether you say you use marijuana recreationally or for medical reasons probably won’t matter in terms of the resulting life insurance rates based on use. For medicinal marijuana users, a life insurance company will want to know about the underlying medical condition that led to the marijuana. And that medical condition can also affect the life insurance quotes you get.
“A lot of people say it’s for pain and that’s not enough, that’s way too general. They want to know what’s causing the pain,” says Bland.
For example, back pain is common and won’t lead to higher rates. But using marijuana during chemotherapy is quite another matter and the life insurer will then focus on the medical condition.
The goal of a marijuana user who’s buying life insurance should be to get a non-smoking rate, especially if the use is occasional. Those who ingest marijuana, such as edibles, should be able to get a non-smoking rate.
Regardless of how often you use marijuana, and whether it’s recreational or medicinal, it’s important to be truthful on any life insurance application. Remember, you’re going to be signing your name to the application and attesting that the information is true.
“Misrepresentations” can be viewed as fraud and, at worst, can result in a company voiding the policy later.
“We advise customers that it’s a crime in all 50 states to make a misrepresentation on an insurance application,” says Bland of LifeQuotes. “When you’re formally applying, you’re authorizing the insurer to check all outside records on you, including doctor records. When you fill out an application, you’re baring your soul. All your answers on your application better match your doctor records and history.”
You’ll likely be required to take a life insurance medical exam, which includes giving blood and urine samples. This is true for many life insurance buyers, not just marijuana users. The life insurance company will also likely look at your medical records and current and past prescriptions. It will pull your motor vehicle record. It will access your past answers to individual life and health insurance applications.
“The buying public needs to realize all your information is verifiable,” says Bland.
If you weren’t honest about marijuana use on the application and evidence pops up in your medical records or in the life insurance exam, “look for a decline on your application. Insurers see it as a moral hazard. What else have you lied about? They’ll take a pass,” warns Bland.
Expect higher rates if there are other factors that will push your life insurance quote up, or even result in a denial. This includes health conditions and black marks in your history, such as a history of substance abuse, a criminal record or moving violations like a speeding ticket or DUI. These are called “rateable” issues.
“If you have rateable issues, work with an agent who will do preliminary quotes for you. You provide all the information and they anonymously shop you first, rather than formally apply,” advises Bland. Many agents will perform this service, he says. That way you’ll know where you stand before you apply. You don’t want to be sending applications to multiple companies.
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