When it comes to purchasing a life insurance policy, the personal use of drugs can be a significant concern for life insurance policy lenders, thus, it can also have a major impact on the policy holder themselves.
Acquiring life insurance as a drug user, whether it be on a recreational basis or as a person struggling with a drug addiction, this factor could have implications on your ability to claim a policy.
Despite personal circumstances such as drug use, it is still important to consider the appropriate life insurance coverage for your loved ones once you unfortunately pass away.
Does Drug Use Affect Life Insurance?
In most cases, when applying for life insurance, you will be asked a series of medical-based questions surrounding your health and lifestyle, including whether or not you use any drugs or other harmful substances. Therefore, yes, drug use can affect your ability to claim life insurance to protect your loved ones.
A history of drug use can dramatically affect your life insurance claim, either with an increased premium rate, or full refusal of your claim. This is due to the fact that drugs are known to contribute to premature death, therefore, insurance companies perceive this as a high risk.
Life insurance companies may wish to further assess you following your declaration of drug use. This may include further medical assessments, further questions about your history of drug use, or assessment of any drug related health issues. It is essential to disclose your drug use history to your lender at the first possible opportunity.
Do I Need To Tell The Insurers About My Drug Use?
Yes, it is extremely important to disclose any history of drug use to your chosen lender. By doing so, the lender has a better insight into your overall health. This way, lenders can offer you a more accurate premium rate quote.
Withholding this type of information could later result in your whole claim being refused or denied and no refunds being given.
Will I be Declined Life Insurance For Taking Drugs?
Having a history of drug use does not automatically disqualify you from purchasing a life insurance policy. The decision to approve or decline your life insurance application may depend on the following:
- The frequency of drug use.
- The type of drugs you take or have taken in the past.
- Health implications related to drug use.
- The specific underwriting criteria of your chosen life insurance policy provider.
Insurance companies will take each person’s personal circumstances into consideration when making a decision on a claim. Of course, the higher the frequency of drug use, and the more drug types you take, the higher the risk of being declined. This is due to the fact that drug use can result in early death amongst users.
Does Life Insurance Pay Out For Drug Overdose?
In the unfortunate incident of a drug overdose, whether or not your life insurance pays out will depend on the life insurance policy providers specific terms and conditions.
In most cases, insurers will have a clause in relation to deaths caused by drug use. This form of exclusion could mean that no pay out will be made after the death of a person who died as a result of a drug overdose. However, each set of circumstances surrounding each individual death will be assessed thoroughly.
On the contrary, where the insurer has no specific cause relating to death due to drug use, the insurance company may still approve a claim where the deceased person died from an accidental drug overdose as a pose to an intentional one- therefore, a pay out will still be issued to the listed beneficiaries.
Once a claim has been filed, the beneficiaries will be asked to provide proof of the insurance policy holder’s death- usually in the form of a death certificate. Only then can the claim be submitted for verification and any further investigations that may be required.
Life Insurance For Ex-Drug Users
It is still possible to access a life insurance policy as a drug user. However, it may be more difficult to access due to stringent underwriting criteria surrounding your overall health post drug use.
If you are approved to claim a life insurance policy, you can expect the premium rate to be higher than usual. Typically, a premium rate will increase in correlation with the risk of further illness or death.
As an ex-drug user, you will likely be assessed with a multitude of medical questions about your medical history and experience with drug taking. It is essential that you disclose everything with no discrepancies in order for the insurer to provide an accurate quote. Whether or not your claim is approved will depend on your individual circumstances at the time of opening a claim.
If you are concerned about whether or not you may be approved as an ex-drug user, Daddy Insurance can provide you with the appropriate guidance to ensure that you select to appropriate life insurance to suit your personal status.
