Does life insurance cover drug overdose? Is an overdose considered an accidental death? If you’re asking this, you’re not alone. These are some of the most commonly Googled questions about life insurance.
The quick answer is yes. Life insurance policies do cover drug overdose deaths.
It doesn’t matter what the substance is or how illegal it is to possess. Life insurers will pay out the policy’s death benefit, even if the insured’s death resulted from an overdose of drugs or alcohol.
To prove this, we’ll first look at excerpts from actual life insurance policy contracts.
Section II will cover the one common-sense caveat to the above.
Finally, in Section III, we’ll discuss how this answer differs from the one for Accidental Death Insurance (hint: significantly).
Let’s dive in.
Choose kindness.
You never know what battles people may be fighting.
This Question Relates To Too Many Families
In 2019, U.S. deaths from drug overdoses reached an all-time high of almost 72,000. Opioid overdoses (primarily from the illegal use of heroin and fentanyl) make up the overwhelming majority of these overdose deaths.
That’s 200 new, heartbroken, and irrevocably changed families every day.
These deaths are part of a more significant trend, which has seen overdose deaths rise nationwide in 19 of the past 20 years.
Overdose Deaths By Year; 1999-2019
COVID-19 Has Led To An Increase In Overdose Deaths
In 2020, COVID-19 made this already difficult situation worse. Deaths rose by an estimated 13% nationwide, with some regions seeing an increase of ~30%.
The isolation brought on by the pandemic exacerbated mental health issues, which often co-occur with addiction.
More tangibly, the economic effects of the pandemic resulted in the closing of many addiction treatment centers and/or reduced access to recovery support services, which can be life-saving for many.
If You Need Help, Reach Out
I’ve seen addiction up close. It’s a progressive illness that only gets worse.
Just as you would be foolish to try to give yourself a liver transplant, the same holds for treating your addiction.
If you’re struggling (or a loved one is), know there is more help out there than you know.
And much of it won’t cost you a thing.
Just start looking for it.
Check Out: Is Open Care a Good Choice for Seniors’ Final Expense Insurance?
Life Insurance Claim Denial (In General)
Having glimpsed the scope of the crisis, let’s return to the main question:
Can a life insurance claim be denied for drug use?
It turns out that the answer depends on two additional questions:
- Was the death within or after the first two years of the life insurance policy?
- Was the drug overdose accidental or intentional?
It Depends On When The Death Occurs…
Why does it matter when death occurs?
It’s because the initial years of your life insurance policy (usually the first two years) are when your life insurance company can challenge the validity of your claim and potentially deny the claim.
This period is, therefore, called the “contestability period.”
After the contestability period, life insurance companies can deny claims for only two reasons:
- A gross misrepresentation on the life insurance application (i.e., fraud).
- An explicit exclusion within the policy.
The purpose of the life insurance “contestability period” is easy to guess: to prevent fraud.
Insurance companies do not want to incentivize people to buy a policy and end their lives for their loved ones’ financial gain.
The ONE Reason For Life Insurance Claim Denial
There is one situation where you may face life insurance claim denial.
The one scenario where your life insurance claim would be denied is if the company learns you lied on your initial application.
For example, if you stated on your application that you had never attended inpatient drug treatment when, in truth, you had. In this case, you can be denied life insurance because of drug use or treatment you haven’t disclosed.
Life insurance companies nearly always conduct investigations after drug overdose deaths, so lies and misrepresentations are inevitably discovered.
Check Out: How Smoking Affects Life Insurance Policy Validity
Choose kindness.
You never know what battles people may be fighting.
So… Does Life Insurance Cover Drug Overdose?
Let’s take a look at the two scenarios.
Scenario 1: The Death Occurs 2+ Years After The Policy Was Purchased
The easy case is when the death occurs multiple years after the life insurance policy was purchased.
If the insured dies 2+ years after policy purchase, then yes, the life insurance company will pay out the death benefit.
RBC Term Policy — Death Benefit Exclusion
After these two years, life insurance claims for drug overdose will receive a death benefit payout like those for any other cause of death (e.g., a medical condition).
Here’s the part that surprises most people, though.
After the first two years, most life insurance policies cover illegal drug overdose, even if it is intentional (i.e., even if you commit suicide).
There are no exclusions (e.g., a suicide clause) in most policy contracts that prohibit this. As striking as it may seem, life insurance policies pay out for suicide as long as it does not occur soon after the policy purchase (i.e., within two years).
Scenario 2: The Death Occurs During The First 2 Years
Now for the trickier situation. What happens if the insured dies within the “contestability period” (the period during which the insurance company can challenge your claim)?
Fraud is the most common reason for life insurance claim denial. An accidental death is not intentional, so cannot be fraud, meaning the insurance company will pay the full death benefit.
So to have your life insurance claim approved and to receive the death benefits you paid for, you have to be able to prove that the death was accidental.
This could be more difficult if the death involved illegal drugs, like heroin, cocaine, or meth. In these cases, the insurance company can argue that the insured should have known that these substances were hazardous and that taking them would have a high chance of death. In other words, it’s easier for them to argue that the insured committed suicide.
What is considered an accidental overdose by most companies?
If a doctor prescribed the drug, it’s much easier to argue for an accidental drug overdose death. You can then say that the insured took more of something they were supposed to take anyway, by accident.
Check Out: How Quickly Can You Expect Life Insurance Payouts?
Drug Overdose With Accidental Death Insurance
What about an accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance policy or accidental death life insurance rider? Does this type of life insurance cover illegal drug overdose deaths? Does life insurance pay for overdose in all circumstances or are there limitations?
Accidental death benefits are paid when the insured dies in an accident or has a severe injury:
- For accidental deaths (e.g., from a motor vehicle accident), the beneficiary receives the full death benefit
- For significant injuries (e.g., loss of sight, loss of a limb, coma), the insured gets a specified portion of the death benefit
However, there are generally exclusions for death or injury that:
- Is self-inflicted
- Occurs during the commission of a felony
- Occurs while the insured is intoxicated or is under the influence of illicit drugs
Death or injury from illegal drug use is typically NOT covered by accidental death insurance policies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does life insurance pay for drug overdose?
Most likely. If the insured dies 2+ years after the policy purchase, the life insurance company will certainly pay out the death benefit. If it’s within the first two years, you must be able to prove that the drug overdose was accidental (which is easier if the drug was prescribed).
Does accidental death insurance pay for drug overdose?
No, there are generally exclusions for death or injury that occurs while under the influence of illegal drugs. Therefore, drug overdose is typically NOT covered by accidental death and dismemberment insurance policies and riders.
Will life insurance companies cover a drug addict?
And can you get life insurance after an overdose? In most cases, getting life insurance for recovering addicts is quite simple. However, life insurers will not cover individuals in active addiction or who have been sober for only a short amount of time. For most carriers, life insurance for drug addicts is available only once you have been substance-free for at least five years.
Does life insurance cover alcohol related deaths?
In short, yes. Agencies thoroughly inspect clients’ lifestyles, habits, and hobbies before making any sort of offer. This means that companies will take into account each risk in your client profile and make an appropriate offer.
Choose kindness.
You never know what battles people may be fighting.
Conclusion
Just because mental health is less tangible does not make it less real. Addicts deserve adequate treatment, and both they and their loved ones deserve our love and compassion.
So, if you were wondering if life insurance will pay for a drug overdose, don’t worry.
Death from drug or alcohol abuse is no less costly to a family, so most life insurance companies are serving their function: to protect families from the financial hardship of death.
If you have any remaining questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or email us at [email protected]. We’ll be sure to get back to you within 24 hours.
Warm Regards,
The GetSure Team
Article Sources
- DrugAbuse.gov. Overdose Death Rates
- The New York Times. In Shadow of Pandemic, U.S. Drug Overdose Records Resurge to Record
- The Lancet. The opioid crisis and the 2020 US election: crossroads for a national epidemic
- RBC Insurance. Sample Term Policy
- Everquote. AD&D Insurance
Wow, this is so blatantly wrong and misleading. Opioids are not also referred to as prescription drugs, at least not correctly. Heroin and fentanyl are opioids and the illegal abuse of these narcotics makes up the overwhelming majority of opioid deaths. Either this article is propaganda the authors are negligent.
Hi Chris — we work hard to offer accurate content, but we make mistakes, and I agree that this was a pretty egregious one. I’m surprised that it made it through editing and I’m more surprised that I wrote it in the first place. Thank you for pointing it out. I’ve changed that sentence to read: “Opioid overdoses (primarily from the illegal use of heroin and fentanyl) make up the overwhelming majority of overdose deaths.” Let me know if you have any feedback. Thanks again.