09 Sep How To Get The Best Price On Life Insurance For Diabetics
For the 29 million Americans that have been diagnosed with diabetes (about 9.3% of our population), it can seem impossible to find a reasonably priced life insurance policy. However, with a little knowledge of how insurance carriers evaluate and price risk, finding a policy with a reasonable price tag is not as difficult as it may appear.
What do life insurance underwriters look for?
Life insurers are concerned with the risk that an applicant represents in terms of how likely it will be to pay out a costly claim should the company accept a person for coverage. When a life insurance application is presented to an insurance company for consideration, the carrier is concerned with the overall health of the applicant and the overall risk that a claim will be paid for each policy. Insurance carriers will not issue a policy if they reasonably expect a claim will be paid within a short period of time.
They evaluate this risk for each applicant through an investigative process called underwriting. For a detailed explanation of how underwriting works, click HERE.
For a candidate that has already been diagnosed with a disease such as diabetes, it is given that the risks are higher. Regardless of whether you have “type 1” or “type 2” diabetes, an applicant should be able to obtain an affordable life insurance contract if it can be demonstrated that the disease is under control.
All life insurance underwriting begins with an inquiry to the overall health and lifestyle of a candidate including:
- Age
- Gender
- Height and weight
- Smoking status / tobacco usage
- Marital status
- Occupation and income
- Overall health and medical history
- Family health and medical history
Additionally they will want to know the answers to a list of condition specific questions to evaluate your condition including:
- At what age were you diagnosed with diabetes?
- What type of diabetes do you have (Type 1 or Type 2)?
- What are your current glucose / blood sugar level readings?
- What, if any, medications have you been prescribed for your condition?
- Do you possess any additional risk factors?
All insurance companies evaluate risk differently
It is important for consumers shopping for life insurance to understand that all companies look at risk differently. There is no one size fits all when it comes to insurance underwriting. Some companies will look at diabetic applicants favorably, and for other companies, a diabetic might be an outright decline.
For diabetics looking for coverage, the type of diabetes that you have been diagnosed will play a role in how you are evaluated. For example most “type 1” diabetics will have a challenge finding affordable life insurance. Companies either won’t write a policy for a “type 1” diabetic, or for those that do, they will be offered at very expensive rates. There are however a small handful of companies that write “type 1 diabetics” at reasonable rates provided the candidates are good at following their treatment protocols. Proper management is the key for “type 1’s”
Alternatively, The World Health Organization estimates , Type 2 diabetes affects approximately 90% of those who have diabetes worldwide. Over the past several years, this condition has actually become much more common than it was in the past.
However, Type 2 diabetes is also more responsive to both diet and exercise than Type 1 diabetes. In addition, this type of diabetes is also more responsive to oral medication and insulin, and those that do a good job in controlling the disease may find underwriters more willing to accept the risk if there is a good history of diabetic control.
It Pays to Shop Around
Regardless of the type of diabetes that you have, there are some best practices when it comes to finding the best rate on a life insurance policy. Because there is a wide variance in how insurance carriers will evaluate the risk of a disease like diabetes you can’t depend on going to just one insurance company and finding the best deal, or even being accepted for a policy.
It is not uncommon for a diabetic to attempt to purchase insurance through an online outlet or the neighborhood representative from the large home and auto carriers only to be declined for coverage.
It important to follow your doctors prescribed treatments and know your recent vitals such as your last A1C numbers so that you can present your case to the underwriters as honestly and favorably as possible.
Working with an insurance agency or insurance broker that has access to a number of different insurers is the key to finding a reasonably priced policy. A good agent will spend the time to understand your situation thoroughly, discuss your recent medical history and then take an educated approach to finding the right carriers to present your case to in order to find the best rates.
They will be your advocate with the insurance companies, and this will give you more choices and a much better chance of finding an acceptable and affordable premium. Working with a qualified agent will also reduce your chances of getting declined for coverage.
