Life insurance with diabetes
Control and complications matter more than the diagnosis itself.
Diabetes is common enough that every insurer has guidelines for it, and specialised enough that those guidelines differ a great deal between carriers.
That variation is the single most useful thing to know. A decision from one insurer genuinely tells you little about another.
What underwriters generally look at
- Type 1 or type 2, and age at diagnosis
- How long you've had it
- Measures of control over time, rather than one reading
- Treatment — diet, oral medication, insulin — and consistency with it
- Whether there are complications: kidney, eye, nerve, or cardiovascular involvement
- Other risk factors alongside it, including blood pressure and weight
Complications are the pivot
In broad terms, underwriters distinguish between diabetes that is being managed without organ involvement and diabetes where complications have developed. Those are assessed quite differently.
It's why the records from your physician matter so much here, and why an insurer will often want them before making a decision.
Carrier appetite varies enormously
Some insurers are considerably more comfortable with diabetes than others — a difference driven by their own experience and reinsurance arrangements rather than by anything about you.
Applying blind, or applying to a single carrier, is how people end up with an unnecessarily poor outcome. Someone who works with impaired-risk cases regularly will know where to look first.
What to have ready
- Date of diagnosis and type
- Current treatment and any changes over time
- Recent lab results, if you have them
- Your endocrinologist or treating physician's details
- Any complications diagnosed, and when
- Any other conditions being managed alongside it
If you already hold coverage
Don't cancel it. A policy issued before a diagnosis is generally unaffected by that diagnosis, and replacing it afterwards is a different and harder exercise.
Common questions
Insurers write coverage for people with diabetes, and their guidelines differ substantially. Whether a particular application is accepted, and on what terms, is that insurer's decision on your individual file.
They're assessed differently, along with age at diagnosis and duration. Both are within normal underwriting territory rather than automatically exceptional.
No. Carrier guidelines vary considerably for diabetes, and a decline from one says little about another. It's worth working with someone who knows which carriers are more comfortable with your specific situation.
Want this priced for your situation?
This page is general information, not advice about your specific circumstances. A licensed insurance professional can tell you what’s actually available to you.
General information only, not insurance advice. Coverage, availability, and terms vary by insurer and by state, and are subject to underwriting. Quote My Policy LLC is a licensed insurance producer. Nothing here binds coverage.