Two Insurers Update Policies to Benefit Marijuana Smokers

The growing acceptance and scientific understanding of marijuana has made two major life insurance companies revise their policies towards marijuana smokers.

The Canadian insurance companies, Sun Life and BMO Insurance, have reversed long-standing policies with high premiums that treated marijuana smokers like cigarette smokers, often charging them triple the rates of non-smokers, reports the National Post.

In recently released memos, the companies stated that the latest research on marijuana’s health impacts convinced them to change their policies.

Sun Life released a statement saying: “In our industry, we keep up to date with medical studies and companies update their underwriting guidelines accordingly. As a result, people who use marijuana are now assessed … at non-smoker rates, unless they also use tobacco.”

Sun Life’s updated, marijuana-friendly policy applies to all marijuana consumers who do not also smoke tobacco, while BMO’s new policy is more limited, and only benefiting recreational consumers who smoke up to two “marijuana cigarettes” per week.