How Types of Diabetes Affect Life Insurance Premiums
Matt Schmidt
Matt Schmidt is a nationally licensed diabetes insurance expert. Over this time frame he's helped out over 10,000 clients secure life insurance coverage with Diabetes. He's frequently authors content to Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Simple Dollar, GoBanking Rates, MSN, Insurancenews.net, and Yahoo Finance and many more. Matt Schmidt is also the Co-Founder of Diabetes Life Solutions and Licensed Insurance agent. He’s been working with the Diabetes community for over 18 years to find consumers the best life insurance policies. Since 2011, he has been a qualified non-member of MDRT, the most prestigious life insurance trade organization in the USA.
Chris Stocker
Chris Stocker
Chris Stocker is a financial services professional and licensed insurance agent. He's also Owner and author of The Life of a Diabetic as well as Type 1 Detour. He's been writing about Diabetes related topics for over 10 years, and has been featured in HealthLine, Diatribe, Diabetes Advocates and JDRF.. He's been writing about Diabetes related topics for over 10 years, and has been featured in HealthLine, Diatribe, Diabetes Advocates and JDRF.
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Last Updated on December 11, 2024
For anyone who has an adverse health condition, obtaining the best life insurance coverage as a diabetic may prove to be somewhat difficult. Although in many cases, you can still be approved for coverage, it is oftentimes at a higher premium rate than the standard applicant.
For those who have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, you may have had difficulty in finding life insurance in the past. Many of you might be wondering does diabetes affect life insurance? There is good news, though. You can be approved for life insurance – and in some cases, you may even qualify at Preferred premium rates.
How Type 1 Diabetes Affects Life Diabetes insurance premium
Does type 1 diabetes affect life insurance? Type 1 diabetes is a condition where an individual’s pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone that is necessary for allowing sugar – or glucose – to enter into the body’s cells in order to produce energy. This condition, once referred to as “juvenile diabetes,” or insulin dependent diabetes, is much more common than its counterpart, Type 2 diabetes.
There are many factors that may contribute to Type 1 diabetes. These may include genetics, as well as a person’s exposure to various viruses. While this type of diabetes will typically come about during one’s childhood, it can also begin in adulthood as well.
Although a great deal of research has been done regarding Type 1 diabetes, at this time there is no known cure for this condition. It can, however, be managed so that individuals who have the condition can live longer and healthier lives. With this in mind, it is possible to qualify for life insurance coverage with type 1 diabetes – however, coverage is most often provided at a substandard rating.
What this means is that you will be able to obtain a policy, however, the diabetes insurance premium that is charged for this coverage will be at a higher rate than those who are of Standard, or average, health.
How Type 2 Diabetes Affects Life Insurance Premiums
Does type 2 diabetes affect life insurance? Those who are afflicted with Type 2 diabetes also have an insulin deficiency. In this case, the body causes their blood glucose levels to rise higher than normal. This condition is often referred to as hyperglycemia. Type 2 diabetes is considered to be the most common form of diabetes.
In most cases, a person who has Type 2 diabetes will develop resistance to insulin. Initially, their pancreas may produce additional insulin in order to make up for this. However, over time, their bodies are unable to keep up, and eventually they cannot produce the amount of insulin that is needed to keep their blood glucose at a normal level.
Oftentimes, those who have Type 2 diabetes can control their condition with diet and / or medication for diabetes. In some cases, it will be required for them to take insulin in order to regulate their body’s production of this hormone.
Individuals who are Type 2 diabetics can oftentimes qualify for Standard life insurance policy ratings. This means that these individuals are considered to be of “average” health, height and weight, and that they have an average life expectancy.
If their condition is well controlled, and they are in excellent health, it may even be possible to qualify for a Preferred life insurance policy rating. This means that the premium that is charged for the coverage will be even less than that of a Standard policy. So, now that you have an answer for does type 2 diabetes affect life insurance or not, go get one for yourself.
What the Life Insurance Underwriters Will Want to Know
In either case, in addition to your condition-related information, the life insurance underwriters will be reviewing information on your:
- Age
- Gender
- Weight (as compared to height)
- Smoking status / tobacco usage
- Alcohol usage
- Marital status
- Occupation and income (if applicable)
- Lifestyle (as it pertains to any dangerous hobbies and / or habits)
- Foreign travel
- Overall health history
- Family health history
You will also likely be required to take a medical examination as a part of the underwriting process unless you have chosen to purchase a no medical exam life insurance policy. This typically involves submitting a blood and urine sample. These are analyzed for additional health conditions that may also pose a risk of claim to the life insurance company. Once all of the information and samples have been reviewed by the insurance company, a coverage decision can be made, and a premium amount for the policy can be determined.
How to Obtain a Specialized Life Insurance Quote for Those with Diabetes
If you are looking for life insurance coverage with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, it will be important that you work with someone who specializes in working with higher risk life insurance cases and help you understand that does type 1 diabetes affect life insurance. This way, you can improve your chances of obtaining coverage. This is because a specialist in high risk cases will know which insurers are more likely to accept certain types of risk. They can also help to guide you in terms of any additional paperwork or other requirements that will be needed for getting your application through underwriting.
When applying for life insurance with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, it is also a good idea to compare coverage from more than just one insurer. This is because both the policy benefits, as well as the premium that is charged, could differ from one insurance carrier to another. In addition, many insurance companies have differing underwriting standards. This means that an applicant that is declined by one carrier may be approved by another.
When seeking the life insurance protection that you need, we can help. We work with many of the top rated life insurance companies in the marketplace today, and we can help you to compare policies and premiums directly from your home computer without ever having to meet in person with an insurance agent. In order to get the process started, just simply fill out your contact information in the form on this page.
If you have any additional questions as you go through the process regarding how to obtain life insurance when you have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, how to obtain premium quotes, does diabetes affect life insurance, or even about life insurance general, our experts are here to assist you. Please feel free to contact us, toll-free, at 800-470-4122. We want to make sure that you have all the information that you need to make the right coverage decisions for those whom you want to protect.
Matt Schmidt
Matt Schmidt is a nationally licensed diabetes insurance expert. Over this time frame he's helped out over 10,000 clients secure life insurance coverage with Diabetes. He's frequently authors content to Forbes, Entrepreneur, The Simple Dollar, GoBanking Rates, MSN, Insurancenews.net, and Yahoo Finance and many more.
Matt Schmidt is also the Co-Founder of Diabetes Life Solutions and Licensed Insurance agent. He’s been working with the Diabetes community for over 18 years to find consumers the best life insurance policies. Since 2011, he has been a qualified non-member of MDRT, the most prestigious life insurance trade organization in the USA
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