With Canada’s announced date of Oct 17, 2018 for the legalization of marijuana, Canadian Insurance Companies are ready.
It was recently disclosed by Statistics Canada that about 4.2 million Canadians have reported using cannibis products in the past 3 months. More that half reported that they use it daily. This could been a big boon for insurance companies.
On October 17, many of Canada’s insurance companies will already have set up guidelines for what could be a generational shift towards mainstream cannabis use.
Insurance Companies Perspective
Insurance Companies use many factors to determine premiums for each client, such as age, sex, family health history and your lifestyle, smoking cigarettes is a sure-fire way of doubling your premium. Using cannabis was also a way that you could see a dramatic rise in your premium. But with the legalization and the wide acceptance by society, insurance companies are reevaluating and asking more questions.
Take a look at these two scenarios;
a) You are in your 30s, have been at you career for years, are a non smoker, does not abuse drugs, married but likes to partake in either a joint or an edible on the weekend. In this situation you are most likely going to receive non-smoker premium rates.
b) You are a non-smoker but have abused drugs or other substances in the past, do not have a stable job, you smoke marijuana daily. In this scenario you are probably going to see your premiums rise.
Each of these scenarios are very different and insurance companies realize this. Basically you will not be penalized for the occasional joint.
Another consideration is how you use marijuana. With more options rather than smoking, like oils., edibles, pills or vaping insurance companies have had to think how that will affect things. They will be interested in how often, the method, and how much you are consuming. They will also take into account that buying cannabis will now be a safer proposition, rather than the sometimes shady methods it was acquired in the past.
The Users Perspective
You may asked, “Should I disclose my usage to my Insurance Company?” It is always the best policy to divulge all pertinent factors when getting an insurance policy. Remember that if you do not you could run the risk of having your coverage rescinded. You could find that when filing a claim and this information comes out, you claim could be denied as well.
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