Jul. 6, 2007

Are life insurance companies allowed to test the applicants for illegal drug use?

Tom, New York

Yes, and most life insurance companies require a medical exam that includes blood and urine samples. Drug use is bound to show up in these. As for which drugs they test for, and how the presence of illegal drugs affects your insurability, these will vary by company. The one constant is that marijuana use automatically labels you a smoker, and you will be offered a smoker's policy, which carries higher premiums.

Guaranteed-issue life insurance companies offer life insurance with no medical exam. However, these policies tend to be more expensive than standard life insurance.

For more information on how health factors can affect your life insurance premiums, read The lowdown on life insurance medical exams.

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Disclaimer: We are journalists, not financial planners or insurance brokers. Nothing we say should be interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any insurance product, or to provide other financial or legal advice.