Life Insurance for Diabetes
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Way.com: The Better Way to Shop for Life Insurance
No Medical Exams
100% Online
Get estimates in seconds
4.9/5 Rating on the App Store
Key Takeaways
Diabetes is a medical condition. Insurance companies consider any life insurance aspirant with a medical condition a risk. So, if you are a person who has diabetes, can you get life insurance? If so, what kind of insurance will suit you the best?
Diabetes doesn't deny your life insurance, but the rates are higher than those without diabetes. Even at a controlled rate, blood sugar can be problematic. Therefore, insurance companies will view you as a risk factor. So, you can get life insurance if your blood sugar is controlled.
The two different types of diabetes can impact insurance rates. Firstly, Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the body does not produce insulin. Usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, it requires insulin injections for the rest of the person's life. Type 1 diabetes is generally considered a higher risk factor for life insurance companies, and as a result, individuals with this condition may face higher premiums.
Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed in adults and is often associated with lifestyle factors such as obesity, physical inactivity, and poor diet resulting in insufficient insulin production. This can lead to health conditions like obesity, heart disease, hypertension, kidney failure, and even limb amputation.
Since the condition can be fatal if uncontrolled, the premium rates tend to be higher based on the severity of the condition. However, your rates will be determined after checking your medical records and the medical underwriting process of the insurance company.
It might look like you are running short of policy options once diagnosed with diabetes. However, that is not the case. Based on your finances, needs, and the severity of the diabetes, you can opt for different policy options.
Considered the most affordable option, term life insurance can be an option if you have your sugar levels under control. However, a medical examination and a questionnaire regarding health is mandatory.
If you are interested in the investment option of the policy, then whole life insurance is a go-to option. However, if you are not taking any diabetes treatment, the premium rates can be ten times higher than term life. In addition, a medical exam is mandatory.
If you want to avoid medical examinations, then simplified or guaranteed issue insurance can occur. However, simplified will need you to fill out a health questionnaire. However, these policies are also expensive.
This can be an affordable choice for people with diabetes. Even though the coverage amount might be limited, you will be saved from medical exams and a few premium payments.
If you are diagnosed with diabetes, some policies allow you to include an additional rider to your existing policies to suit your needs. For example, accelerated death benefit riders, critical illness riders, waiver of premium, and term conversion riders can help.
The cost of insuring a person with diabetes will depend on factors like age, disease severity, mode of treatment, and health history.
| Age | Type 2 diabetes (well-controlled) | Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 (not well controlled) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $64 | $80 |
| 40 | $80 | $101 |
| 50 | $141 | $187 |
| Age | Type 2 diabetes (well-controlled) | Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 (not well controlled) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $53 | $67 |
| 40 | $64 | $80 |
| 50 | $104 | $140 |
The impact of diabetes on life insurance costs can depend on several individual factors, including the type of diabetes, the individual's age at diagnosis, how well the condition is managed, and the presence of any related complications.
Life insurance companies will assess the risk of insuring an individual with diabetes based on a variety of factors, including:
Insurance companies may also require additional medical underwriting before offering coverage to an individual with diabetes.
Here are the things you should consider while purchasing life insurance if you are a diabetes patient.
Most insurance companies consider the health, age, and risk factors associated with diabetes. The underwriting process might be different for each provider.
There are different policies available that suit each individual's needs. As a person with diabetes, you might want to compare the rates which can shoot due to the medical condition. Term policies can be cheaper than permanent policies.
Apart from choosing the policy, zeroing in on a company is equally critical. This can be based on the financial Strength of the company, the NAIC complaint rate, and overall customer satisfaction.
With few complaint rates, Pacific Life is the best for those looking for a wide selection of policy types. For those with diabetes, they come with term, whole, universal, indexed, and variable indexed life insurance policies. Customer satisfaction and the broad range of policy choice makes it a good choice. However, they do not have an online option to purchase a policy.
It offers guaranteed issue coverage which is suitable for those with diabetes. However, you should be older than 45 years to buy the policy. Similarly, they also offer a broad range of additional riders, which can be useful if you have diabetes. In addition, they do not mandate medical examinations.
If you are planning to take a term life insurance policy as a diabetic patient, then Banner can be the choice. They even offer a maximum term length of 40 years. But you might be disappointed if you are looking for expansive options.
Even though John Hancock's Aspire option is limited to a few places, they have the best policies customized for diabetes patients. They provide discounts and options for both permanent and term policies. However, they allow only offline transactions.
Here is a comparison of the best life insurance companies if you have diabetes based on its best offers, AM's best ratings, and the convenience of an online purchase.
| Insurance Company | Sample Monthly Cost for Term Insurance | Policy Types | AM Best Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Life | $29 | Indexed Universal, Term, Universal, Variable Universal, Whole | A+ |
| Mutual of Omaha | $33 | Final Expense, Indexed Universal, Term, Universal | A+ |
| Banner | $27 | Term, Universal | A+
|
| John Hancock Life Insurance | NA | Indexed Universal, Term, Variable Universal | A+
|
The life insurance rates published in this guide are based on the results of research completed by Way.com’s data team. Using a mix of public and internal data, we analyzed millions of rate averages across U.S. ZIP codes.
Quotes are typically based on a full coverage policy average unless otherwise noted within the content.
These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes will differ. Given this, it’s important to go through our insurance steps form to find how much you can save with way.com
If you are diagnosed with diabetes and have an active policy, your coverage rates won't be affected as the policy is already in force. In other words, since the policy was purchased before you were diagnosed, it will not affect the rates.
The cost of insuring a person with diabetes will depend on factors like age, disease severity, mode of treatment, and health history. The average monthly life insurance rate for a 40-year-old male with Type 1 diabetes is $101.
Though term life insurance is the most affordable, getting a policy with no medical examination or underwriting is better. Simplified guaranteed life insurance can be the best option in that case.
Yes, you can get whole life insurance as a person with diabetes. However, the premium rates can be expensive compared to those without diabetes.
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