If your clients use marijuana, either for medical purposes or recreationally, insurers have traditionally rated them as smokers—and charged smokers’ rates, which are often 40% to 50% higher. But that may soon change.
Recently, a host of carriers—among them Empire Life, Great West Life and Sun Life—have decided not to penalize clients who occasionally use pot or hashish (see “Where do insurers stand on pot use?”). Other carriers have followed suit or are in the process of updating their positions.
The change, says Joan Weir, director of Health and Dental Policy at CLHIA in Toronto, was thanks largely to a well-organized, public campaign by medical marijuana proponents. The campaign, she says, brought forth a convincing amount of scientific evidence as to pot’s benefits and its relative safety compared to tobacco.
Susan Goldberg – Advisor.ca – October 21, 2016.
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