Marijuana users can get life insurance. What matters is how underwriting (the process insurers use to evaluate risk) works, and whether the insurer classifies cannabis use as a smoker or nonsmoker risk. Classification determines your premium, and policies vary by insurer.
Life Insurance and Marijuana: Can You Get Covered?
Marijuana users can get life insurance. Insurers classify applicants as nonsmoker or smoker based on how often they use cannabis, and that classification alone can raise a monthly premium by more than 200%.
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Updated: July 23, 2026
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Key Takeaways
The primary variable for marijuana users buying life insurance is how the insurer classifies cannabis use: smoker vs. nonsmoker.
Depending on the insurer, occasional users (once per month or once per week) may qualify for nonsmoker rates.
A 40-year-old marijuana user classified as a smoker pays more than 200% more per month than a nonsmoker for a $500,000 policy. The gap narrows or widens at other ages, per MoneyGeek's rate analysis.
A disclosed, legal history of marijuana use rarely blocks a paid claim once a policy passes its two-year contestability period.
Can Marijuana Users Get Life Insurance?
How Insurers Classify Marijuana Use
Life insurance underwriting follows two main categories for marijuana use: nonsmoker or smoker. Some companies offer nonsmoker rates for occasional users and charge smoker rates to regular marijuana users. But some insurers offer nonsmoker rates regardless of the frequency of marijuana use.
Occasional or infrequent use isn't standardized. Each insurer sets its own threshold. Common thresholds range from once per month to once per week, and some insurers cap nonsmoker eligibility at 12 to 24 times per year.
Method of consumption doesn't automatically affect classification. Applicants disclose smoking, edibles, vaping and tinctures on the application, but insurers vary on whether the method changes the rate. Daily or near-daily users, meaning more than four times per week, are almost always rated as smokers or declined for preferred risk classes.
What Disqualifies You from Life Insurance?
A handful of marijuana-related factors can disqualify an applicant rather than simply raising the premium. Using marijuana more than four times per week, beyond most insurers' threshold, can lead to a decline instead of a smoker rating.
Combining marijuana use with a DUI history or a diagnosed alcohol or drug dependence also raises the risk of a decline. A serious health condition linked to marijuana use is evaluated separately, on top of these usage patterns.
Misrepresenting your marijuana use on the application is its own disqualifier. If an insurer catches the inconsistency during underwriting, it can decline the application outright instead of adjusting your rate.
Can a Life Insurance Claim Be Denied Because of Marijuana Use?
Legal marijuana use that you disclosed accurately at the life insurance application rarely lets an insurer deny a paid claim. Once a policy passes its contestability period (the first two years it's in force in most states), the insurer usually can't rescind coverage or deny the death benefit based on marijuana use alone. This protection is called the incontestability clause, and it's standard across U.S. life insurance policies.
Two things can still put a claim at risk. An insurer that discovers undisclosed marijuana use during the contestability period can call it a material misrepresentation and try to deny the claim, even for a legal user. Some policies, particularly accidental death riders (optional add-ons to a base policy), also contain drug or intoxication exclusions that can apply to a cannabis-related death regardless of state law. Review your policy's exclusion language before you buy, and disclose your marijuana use in full on the application.
This explains standard practice, not legal advice. Insurance contract disputes are fact-specific, so consult your policy documents or a licensed professional about your specific situation.
Do I Have to Tell My Life Insurance Company if I Start Using Marijuana?
Standard term and whole life policies only ask about your health and habits as of your application date. If you start using marijuana after your policy is already in force, you don't need to report it, and your existing rate stays the same.
This differs from applying for a new policy or increasing your coverage, since both require you to answer current health and lifestyle questions again, including your marijuana use at that time.
How Do Life Insurance Companies Test for Marijuana?
Life insurance companies test for marijuana through the urine and blood samples collected during the medical exam (a brief health check some insurers require before approving your policy). THC metabolites can appear in a blood test for up to 36 hours after use. Urine tests detect THC for three to four days in occasional users and up to 30 days in regular users.
Not all insurers require a medical exam. No-exam and guaranteed acceptance policies skip the lab test, though marijuana use is still a required disclosure on the application.
How Does Marijuana Use Affect Life Insurance?
The main difference comes down to life insurance premiums for smoker versus nonsmoker classification. For a 40-year-old buying a $500,000, 20-year term policy, a marijuana user rated as a smoker pays $148 versus $47 monthly for women and $194 versus $59 for men, more than 200% higher in both cases.
Smoker vs. Nonsmoker Rates
20 | Female | $30 | $71 |
Male | $36 | $96 | |
30 | Female | $31 | $84 |
Male | $38 | $111 | |
40 | Female | $47 | $148 |
Male | $59 | $194 | |
50 | Female | $102 | $331 |
Male | $137 | $454 | |
60 | Female | $286 | $776 |
Male | $395 | $1,085 | |
70 | Female | $844 | $1,300 |
Male | $1,132 | $2,701 |
Rates are based on a 20-year term policy for people in average health, for illustration only. Coverage amount is $500,000. Actual costs vary by individual profile, health status, coverage needs and insurer underwriting. Rates are not guaranteed and may not reflect current market pricing.
The smoker-nonsmoker price gap isn't flat across ages. It's widest in your 40s and 50s, when a marijuana user classified as a smoker can pay more than double what a nonsmoker pays. The gap narrows at older ages, when overall mortality risk affects every applicant's premium more than marijuana use does.
How to Disclose Marijuana Use on a Life Insurance Application
Once you know how insurers test and classify marijuana use, disclosing it accurately on your application is what keeps a future claim from being challenged. Misrepresenting your use, even to get a lower rate, risks a denied claim during the contestability period.
- 1Answer the tobacco and nicotine question accurately
Most applications ask about tobacco, nicotine and "other substances," including marijuana. Answer each sub-question separately and truthfully. Misrepresentation on an application is grounds for claim denial during the contestability period (the first two years, when insurers can investigate claims).
- 2State frequency and method of use
Be prepared to specify how often you use marijuana (daily, weekly, monthly or occasionally) and by what method (smoked, edibles, vaporized, topical). Insurers vary on whether method affects your rate.
- 3Disclose any medical marijuana prescription
If you hold a medical marijuana card or prescription, disclose it. The underlying condition for which it was prescribed may carry its own underwriting implications separate from the marijuana use itself.
- 4Request quotes from multiple insurers before applying
Underwriting guidelines vary by insurer, so get a quote comparison across at least three to five insurers. A licensed independent agent who works with multiple insurers can identify the most favorable classification for your use pattern before a formal application is submitted.
- 5Review the policy during the free look period
Once approved, review your final classification and rate during the free look period (10 to 30 days, depending on the state). If the classification differs from what was quoted, you may cancel. If everything's in order, pay your premium to start coverage.
No-Exam Life Insurance for Marijuana Users
No-exam life insurance is an alternative option for marijuana users who want to avoid the standard medical exam. No-exam policies may still ask health questions on the application, and marijuana use is a required disclosure.
No-exam policies cost more per dollar of coverage than fully underwritten policies. Marijuana users can still receive a smoker classification if MIB data or prescription database records flag tobacco or nicotine use.
Guaranteed acceptance life insurance is available to any applicant regardless of health or marijuana use. Most providers cap coverage at $5,000 to $25,000. It's designed for final expense coverage as opposed to not income replacement.
Life Insurance for Marijuana Users: FAQ
Not always. Some insurers charge smoker rates for any marijuana use. Others offer nonsmoker rates to occasional users. Smoker rates cost more than 200% higher than nonsmoker rates for a $500,000 policy on average, based on MoneyGeek's rate analysis, and the price gap varies at other ages.
At most insurers, no. A few treat smoking or vaping differently from edibles or tinctures, but frequency of use matters more than method at most companies. Ask your insurer directly which methods it factors into your rate.
Omitting marijuana use is a misrepresentation. During the two-year contestability period, an insurer can investigate a claim and deny the death benefit if it finds you withheld material information. Disclose accurately so your beneficiaries can rely on the payout.
Yes, but the underlying condition may affect your rate independently of the marijuana use. Disclose both the prescription and the condition. Underwriting will assess the health condition on its own merits. Some conditions have no impact on rates, but others result in a higher premium or a different risk classification.
Many insurers offer reconsideration: you can ask your insurer to re-rate your policy after you stop using marijuana for a sustained period, commonly around 12 months. If approved, your classification can move from smoker to nonsmoker, which lowers your premium going forward. Contact your insurer directly to start the reconsideration process.
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About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick, a licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Producer in Connecticut, is MoneyGeek's resident insurance expert. He has spent nearly a decade analyzing the market, first at LendingTree and now at MoneyGeek, where he produces original research on hundreds of carriers and millions of rates across auto, home, renters, health and life insurance.
He covers economics and insurance at MoneyGeek, and his work has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times and NPR, among other outlets.
Like all MoneyGeek analysts, he draws on independent cost and consumer experience data. No insurance company partnership influences his recommendations.
Mark holds a B.A. from Boston College and an M.A. in Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University. He started his career in financial risk management at State Street and is also a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion.