Sometimes it really pays to have an insurance agent who knows what they are doing. As rules and regulations get more complicated, this is why you want someone like me on your side. The truth is I don’t have the foggiest idea if Snoop Dogg got approved preferred rates for life insurance, but what I do know is that it has been alleged that Snoop Dogg, Lady GaGa, and Willie Nelson have all rolled a joint or two in their lives. With more than 19 states now offering medical marijuana and several states have legalized the sale of the pot, are there important things for you to know about this when you apply for life insurance?
Of course having written insurance policies for over 20 years, I’ve heard just about everything when I take an application. Uhhh . . . Ted . . . will marijuana show up on blood test? If yes, how long do you figure it will take for it to flush out of my system? That’s funny. Too funny. What am I? Now some part time doctor that has accuracy testing for flushing drugs out of your system? You should of thought of that way before you toked up on that ‘j’ before the Eagles concert. Or, just maybe if you know the rules about what the insurance companies are actually looking at it wouldn’t really matter at all.
A recent underwriter at National Financial Partners shared this with me. “Medical marijuana can also be taken in many various forms from pills, gummy bears, inhaled and smoked. Smoking or inhaling provides the fastest effects and reaches the brain in a few minutes, whereas the other forms can take up to an hour. There are also some approved medications that use the synthetic form of marijuana as the primary ingredient such as Marinol which is approved in the US for nausea to stimulate appetite and Sativex which is in the final stages of approval in the US but available in other countries which actually uses plant extract and is used as a mouth spray for neuropathic pain and to reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis.” So one major question is what method you are actually taking the marijuana.
What really becomes most important is the cover letter your insurance agent writes with the application. Remember, insurance underwriting has subjectivity within the process. It’s not cut and dry. For example, when it comes to cigars many insurance carriers will allow for a celebratory cigar or two and still treat you as a non-smoker when it comes to your underwriting. Insurance carriers like Met Life and Mutual Of Omaha may actually look at you as a non-smoker with recreational use of marijuana. Knowing what carriers to go to and how to write your application are extremely crucial. Remember, if you falsify your application, you could be under a permanent window where a claim can be denied because you misrepresented material facts of your insurance case.
Since pretty much everyone denies that they have tried or smoked pot, I’m not here to be your conscience. Even the last three President’s all openly admit that they tried pot at one time or another. Remember, Clinton didn’t inhale according to him. Depending on the use of marijuana, the state you live in, and your overall insurance application, you too may be able to get approved preferred rates depending on your overall profile. Don’t let your insurance case go up in smoke (needed at least one Cheech & Chong reference). Get with an agent who can help you with the finer points of this process and you can make a smart money move saving hundreds or thousands of dollars on your bottom line!
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