Whether it’s type 1 or type 2, a diabetes diagnosis is life-changing—but that doesn’t mean you can’t get life insurance for diabetics. You absolutely can get coverage and even though it may be more expensive than coverage for a non-diabetic, it doesn’t mean a plan will break the bank.
If you’re looking into getting life insurance for diabetes type 1 or life insurance for diabetes type 2, keep reading. We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about getting the best policy for the best price.
Across the board, being diabetic makes you a higher risk to insure and therefore, life insurance will be more expensive. The type of diabetes you have also impacted the cost of your life insurance.
If you have type 1 diabetes, which is less manageable and usually requires insulin as treatment, you can expect your life insurance premiums to be higher than for type 2 diabetes, which is considered lower risk.
Type 2 diabetes can be managed through diet and exercise, and even when it requires oral medication, it’s typically not considered high risk.
There’s a third type of diabetes that we haven’t talked about yet: gestational diabetes. Women develop gestational diabetes due to hormonal changes while pregnant and while the condition is often temporary and goes away after birth, sometimes, women will develop type 2 diabetes that will continue post-natal.
If you have gestational diabetes, you are considered at higher risk than a woman who doesn’t have it. For this reason, it’s a good idea to wait until after you give birth to apply for life insurance. However, if you need it during your pregnancy, just be aware you will be charged higher premiums.
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Unless you’re applying for no-medical exam life insurance, you’ll have to undergo tests to assess your current health and provide your insurer with your doctor’s information so that they can access your medical records.
What’s more, in addition to the standard life insurance medical form, you’ll need to fill out a form specifically for individuals with diabetes. In this questionnaire, you can expect to answer the following:
What type of diabetes do you have? Type 1, type 2, or gestational.
How old were you when you were first diagnosed? If you’ve had diabetes for a long time, it will have affected your body more significantly and your life insurance will be more expensive.
What are your A1C levels? An A1C test measures your average blood sugar levels for the last 2-3 months. If your levels are above 7.5, you will usually be considered a higher risk to insure, and therefore, more expensive.
What is your blood sugar level? A blood sugar level below 135 is considered favourably, though you may also be able to get coverage if your levels are higher and controlled.
What’s the result of your microalbumin test? This test detects early signs of kidney damage which is an implication of diabetes.
How do you control your diabetes? Medication, insulin, or diet and exercise, or a combination of the above: you’ll need to inform your potential provider.
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There are a couple of different types of life insurance that are ideal for diabetics: Term or permanent. To decide on the best life insurance for you, you need to understand what each type of plan offers.
Term life insurance is the best and will insure you for a preset amount of time (e.g. 10 years). There’s no cash value option but if something happens to you within that preset time, your dependents will be financially supported. If you want to transition to a more permanent plan when your term is up, you can talk to your provider about doing so. Most carriers will accommodate this.
Permanent life insurance, on the other hand, will insure you for your entire life, and is, therefore, more costly. Whole life and universal life, both of which are types of permanent life insurance, offer a cash value component (which you can use for savings) and are the most expensive out of this particular option.
Guaranteed universal, on the other hand, is a type of permanent life insurance with little to no cash value that’s, therefore, more affordable.
If you have diabetes, it may seem like a good idea to go with a no-medical exam policy, but these plans are expensive and have limited coverage, usually maxing out at $500,000 in coverage for term policies and $50,000 for whole life.
And, even if you choose a no-medical exam, your provider will still ask you to complete the diabetic life insurance questionnaire, so if your condition isn’t controlled, it will be obvious.
This said a no-exam plan may still be the best option if you think you may have side effects from diabetes that have not yet been diagnosed, like neuropathy. The exam required by a fully underwritten plan would uncover this numbness in your hands and feet and as a result, you could be rejected.
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In the event you are denied term or whole life insurance, you can apply for guaranteed issue life insurance, also known as final expense life insurance. Since this policy will insure you no matter what, it’s the most expensive form of life insurance and should only be considered if no other options are available to you.
The best life insurance for diabetic people will depend on the type of diabetes you have, the amount of coverage you want, the medication you take, and when you were diagnosed with diabetes.
Get a diabetic life insurance quote now and get paired with a provider so you ask the questions you need to ask to get the coverage you need.
Nothing—the insurer can’t cancel the insurance or raise rates. There’s only one situation in which the price of your coverage might increase, and that’s if you want to increase your policy’s coverage. In this case, you will have to go through additional underwriting which means your diabetes could increase the cost of your coverage.
If you have a whole life or universal life insurance policy, you may be able to increase your policy’s coverage with a paid-up addition, but this option may not always be available.
There are dozens of companies that will insure diabetics, but finding the best one for you can be an exhausting, time-consuming process. That’s why we’ve curated a list of the top companies providing life insurance for diabetics, and when you request a quote from us, we’ll pair you with your ideal match.
Request a fast and free quote for diabetic life insurance now.
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Hollay Ghadery Hollay Ghadery is a writer and editor who is passionate about financial literacy as a means to personal fulfillment. Hollay has over 18 years of experience creating content about a range of topics related to personal finance, including insurance, investing, banking, and credit cards. When Hollay isn't writing, she's spending time with her four children, two dogs, and three goats.
