Does Life Insurance Cover Surfing?
Question asked by Rebecca Firth
I’d like to take out Life Insurance but I’ve smoked cannabis once a week for the past few years. Will this have an impact on if I can get cover or not?
If you have used or currently use cannabis you may be worried about how this may affect an application for Life Insurance. It can also be a concern discussing this topic with an adviser or insurance company.
If asked about cannabis use, it’s important to be aware that this is entirely confidential and the information is used purely to assess your application, so it’s always best to be completely honest.
For many, it can be surprising to hear that previous cannabis use can often have no effect on your ability to gain life cover, although this really depends on the insurer as some take it more seriously than others. In fact, while many insurers specifically ask about cannabis on their application forms there are a small number which do not.
For those insurers that do ask, if you are a current user of cannabis then further information will likely be required such as frequency of use and quantity.
Insurers may also ask if the usage has lead to any issues such as time off work or illness. Depending on the answers to these questions the insurer will decide whether to offer cover at standard rates, charge an additional premium, or in some more serious cases decline to provide cover entirely.