Last Updated on November 8, 2024
Wouldn’t it be nice to have the option to purchase your life insurance policy from a licensed agent who is equally as knowledgeable about your medical conditions and the difficulties they might present to an independent life insurance company? And wouldn’t it be nice if the agent would have access to various life insurance carriers, that would provide the best rates, given your Diabetes history?
Life insurance will be one of the most important financial products you will purchase in your lifetime. There is no debating this. Making sure you purchase the ‘right’ policy given your financial objectives is just as important.
Well, this is an option when you choose to purchase your life insurance policy from an agent that works with Diabetes Life Solutions. Taking extra initiative to remain current in matters regarding the assistance of individuals with chronic illness in their pursuit to discover an affordable life insurance policy that has been tailored to their needs. Our independent insurance agents offer the personalized attention you’re looking for, giving you the peace of mind that you’re needs are going to be addressed. Living with Diabetes can be a challenge. Finding life insurance with Diabetes can be challenging to. That’s where Diabetes Life Solutions steps in, and makes everything as seamless as possible!
Diabetes LIfe Solutions is on a mission to help the Diabetes community find the best policy for their family. It’s our goal to make the application process as simple as possible, for all applicants. We also like to provide a little personal touch along the way. Navigating the life insurance marketplace online can be difficult.
There’s so much misinformation out over the internet, and many other websites providing ‘fake’ information. Due to this we pride ourselves being the only online resource that is 100% dedicated to all things Diabetes related. All information presented is real and accurate.
What is an independent life insurance agent?
You often times hear the ‘term’ independent life insurance agent, but what exactly does that mean? In the simplest of terms, independent means that an agent or agency represents multiple life insurance companies. They do not have to only recommend specific companies and products. When you have a chronic illness such as Diabetes, not every independent life insurance company will view your profile the same. One company may charge you higher rates due to your condition, where as another one may offer a policy without any extra table ratings or higher premiums. In some situations, a life insurance company may automatically decline you due to having type 1 diabetes life insurance, where another would have NO issues approving for coverage. Or certain companies will not accept you if you use an insulin pump, where as other companies view usage of insulin pumps to be favorable.
Certain companies like New York Life, State Farm, and Northwestern Mutual require their agents to only ‘sell’ their products. In some situations, these companies may not even APPROVE your application for life insurance due to your diabetes history. Or if they do approve you, your life insurance rates would be higher compared to other comparable life insurance companies.
The industry refers to ‘groups’ like this as a CAPTIVE agency. It’s not that these companies are necessarily bad, but if like most consumers, you’d probably want to work with an agent who can provide you with multiple companies, to choose from. Any time you have a chronic illness such as Diabetes, it may be a wise decision to work with an agent who has the ability to ‘shop’ your profile to multiple companies.
In life, most people want ‘choices’. And this is generally true when it comes to life insurance. Especially for the diabetes community. Everyone’s health profile is different, and because of this, your life insurance agent needs to have access to various life insurance companies, to accommodate your particular situation. Not all life insurance policies are created equal. Riders will vary from insurance company to company. In some situations, an insurance company may offer living benefit riders at no extra costs. Convertibility features too will vary. Reviewing all the options available to you may be critical to you and your family at some point in the future. These are the types of questions you should be asking an agent as you discuss your personal situation.
What does an independent agent do?
Your independent agent insurance companieswill be your representative, who helps make recommendations as to what life insurance company may be ideal, type of coverage ( term life insurance or whole life insurance ) and they will help you decide on the proper amount of life insurance you need for your family. Independent agents can also provide you information on the various life insurance riders available, from multiple companies.
Many life insurance providers provide riders that allow you to accelerate your death benefit, while living. It you were diagnosed with a terminal, critical, or chronic illness, part of your life insurance death benefit could be utilized, if needed. Having access to a life insurance policy like this could be beneficial to you and your family.
Essentially your independent life insurance agent will be your point of contact to provide you EVERYTHING you need to help make an informed decision on a life insurance purchase. Based off your Type 1, Type 2, or gestational diabetes history, they can provide you an idea of what the various premiums may be for different diabetes life insurance companies. They can discuss what companies would ‘rate’ you higher and why. You want this agent to be a diabetic life insurance resource for yourself.
When you are ready to apply, your independent agent insurance companies will help you complete the application, schedule the paramedical exam, and they will help order the necessary medical records that underwriters will need to review. During the application process, your agent should be providing updates every few days to you. If any additional information is needed, the agent should reach out directly to you. Your agent SHOULD also have direct access to various underwriters, to help negotiate the best possible offer, with these companies. In our experience, agents who ONLY work with diabetics tend to get favorable offers, from certain life insurance companies.
Once all information is reviewed by the various life insurance companies, your independent life insurance company should present to you the various offers. They can provide to you the what the premiums will be for term life insurance, and whole life insurance. Now that you’d have the final offers, you could then choose what type of policy and what amount of coverage to move forward with.
If you prefer to apply for a no medical exam diabetic life insurance policy, your agent again will help you complete specific applications. They’ll also provide the company all your specific diabetes information, and ‘paint’ a pretty picture of your health profile to the underwriter. These extra details could be the difference in getting approved, or declined. Generally, these no medical exam companies will approve within 2-5 business days.
In order for any agent to provide accurate life insurance quotes to you, they should ask the following questions at a minimum:
- Type of Diabetes you have
- Age of Diabetes onset
- Medications taking to control your Diabetes
- Recent A1C and Glucose readings
- Any history of Diabetes complications such as Retinopathy or Neuropathy
- Any other health issues
- Any use of Tobacco products in last 12 months
Avoid conflicts of interest
Sadly, you would think that every life insurance agent you work with, doesn’t have any conflicts of interest. Many ‘captive’ agents are forced to sell their employers specific products. In addition, they receive benefits such as 401K’s, health insurance, and bonus payments, based off their ability to sell certain products.
By doing this, your agent may be placing their own needs, ahead of you, the consumer’s needs. Generally, this would not be in your best interest. If an agent is ‘forced’ to sell a specific company to meet a quota, that is a direct conflict of interest. Here are some questions you would want to ask your agent, to make sure they are WORKING FOR YOU, and looking out for what’s BEST FOR YOU:
- When making recommendations, do you receive any ‘perks’ for recommending a specific company or product?
- Do all insurance carriers pay you the same amount of commission, to avoid recommending ONE carrier that pays you more commission?
- Are you a 1099 representative with multiple life insurance companies, or do you receive a W2 thru a carrier?
- Do you work as a fiduciary for the client, or do you put your ‘employers’ needs ahead of your clients?
What makes Diabetes Life Solutions Different?
Diabetes Life Solutions specializes in making sure that they are educating both their clients and underwriters regarding matters of health and pre-existing medical conditions like diabetes and other chronic illness so that they can understand your situation and work alongside you to ensure that your needs are met and your wallet doesn’t become emptied. That’s right! We actually spend time speaking with life insurance providers and bring them up to date on trends in the diabetes world. One example is inhalable insulin, and life insurance. Most companies had NO idea how to look at this issue. But once we spent time with a couple of ‘select’ companies, they agreed that someone using this type of insulin would be viewed favorably.
Another example is how for the longest time, life insurance carriers would only consider you a well controlled diabetic, if your A1C was below 7.0. IN reality, there are several well controlled diabetics, who’s body just cannot get their A1C level to that point. We work with certain companies who review your complete HEALTH PROFILE, and would offer policies with NO EXTRA premiums with an A1C above 7.0. This is what makes US DIFFERENT!!
Being knowledgeable about the challenges that individuals with chronic health conditions, like diabetes, face when applying for life insurance policies is how our agents stand out from the rest. Independent life insurance agents value the practice of staying current and educated about the most common concerns applicants with chronic illness may have regarding their eligibility.
When you begin working with us to find the policy that is right for you, it will become abundantly clear why you’ve made the right choice. It’s comforting being able to trust that you’re getting the best possible policy at the most affordable rates for your situation. We treat the diabetes community with the utmost respect.
Most importantly, underwriters are extensively and continuously educated in an effort to help them better understand that the stigma associated with individuals who have been diagnosed with a chronic illness isn’t always accurate or reflective of their true health.
In fact, most people with diabetes are in much better health than what may be assumed by the majority of individuals unfamiliar with the condition. In our eyes, people with Diabetes are some of the most healthy people on this planet.
With the proper management of their condition, many individuals who have been diagnosed with diabetes have been able to successfully achieve a level of health – through the use of medications and lifestyle modifications – that is comparable to that of individuals who have not been diagnosed with a chronic medical condition.
Large agencies can be staffed with agents who possess little to no knowledge about the management of chronic medical conditions like diabetes. Often times they provide fake, or low ball quotes. Why? To simply trick you into applying with them. You apply, and then your rates come back much much higher. This is sad, and not a good experience for anyone with Diabetes.
Misinformation or lack of education can lead to your unwarranted ineligibility or unnecessarily high premiums. Working with our agents who have been extensively trained in assisting you and building a life insurance policy around your life is an added personal touch offered by independent agent insurance companies that could not just provide a valuable asset to your family, but save you large sums of valuable income.
Choosing to purchase your life insurance policy through Diabetes Life Solutions means you will receive the highest level of customer service. Also, if you are happy with a policy that we obtain for you, we’ll donate part of our commission to a diabetes charity of your choice. Nobody else is more committed to the diabetes community, than us.
Call us today at 888-629-3064 and begin the process of obtaining relevant life insurance information. The call takes about 5 minutes. Or you can request a quote thru us, and communicate thru email. Don’t put off this important decision any longer!
