Do Life Insurance Companies Test for THC?
Insurance companies that sell life insurance policies conduct medical exams to check for the applicants overall state of health. These tests include urine and blood tests to detect the presence of illegal drugs like THC or other prohibited chemicals. The underwriting team of the insurance company would then formulate the life insurance policy based on the readings obtained from the medical tests.
Based on the results, they would first assess if the person was eligible to receive insurance. If he or she has been discovered to be suffering from some form of terminal illness, then the insurance company might in all probability deny life insurance to the individual. If the applicant is deemed to be healthy, then the rates of premiums would be set at a lower standard because the heal risks associated with individual are less. In the same vein Smokers, those even with healthy bodies always end up paying considerably much higher premium rates than other healthy non-smokers.
With marijuana users, the fears become even more pronounced as a lot of insurance consider the health risks to be very high. Yet all individuals should seriously consider applying for insurance because of the many obvious benefits that come with it. To quite an extent, many THC users refrain from applying for life insurance over the fear of getting prosecuted.
Do you fear being prosecuted, if tested positive for THC?
A lot of people who use illegal drugs like marijuana; cocaine, opiates, lsd etc often live under the fear of being prosecuted, if they were to subject themselves to buy a life insurance policy. This has prevented many of them from applying for life insurance, due to the possibility of being caught for the presence of THC in their system while taking a drug test. This is far from the truth as the insurance company is obligated to maintain client confidentiality through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPPA) act. This act ensures that your privacy and trust is not violated in any manner. All individuals regardless of their drug habits should seriously consider applying for life insurance. There are several benefits to being eligible for a policy.
What does the presence of THC mean for your life insurance prospects?
With regard to applicants who are users of marijuana, there are some options that they can consider while going in for insurance. Earlier it used to be difficult for marijuana users to even become eligible for life policies. Nowadays there are quite a few insurance companies that offer life insurance products even if you have been tested positive for THC. Though it is inevitable that these applicants might have to qualify for smoker's rates while applying for life insurance.
Your premium rates for your policy also depend on the degree and extent of narcotic use. If you are a regular user, then it might be difficult to actually find a comprehensive package, which is both affordable and offers decent amount of coverage. You may end up paying 50 to 400 per cent more than what healthy non-smokers pay on their policies. This may not be a feasible investment for all people. Even those applicants, who have been prescribed marijuana for medical use, would have to contend with paying higher rates if they become eligible for the policy.
For recreational users, it would generally be advisable to quit the habit before applying for insurance. THC usually stays in your system for a period of 4 to 8 weeks depending on your body metabolism and other related factors. It would be wise to at least wait for a period of 3 full months before applying for life insurance. This way your chances of becoming eligible for a comprehensive life insurance policy, gets greatly enhanced when your tests for the presence of THC turn out negative.