It’s a common assumption that if you are diabetic, you cannot get life insurance. Fortunately, that is a mistaken assumption in many cases.
There are policies available for diabetics, typically term life insurance, that may enable you to get at least some coverage.
How common is diabetes?
According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 25.8 million people in the United States who have diabetes (8.3% of the total population).
This includes 18.8 million diagnosed cases, as well as an estimated 7 million cases that have not been diagnosed. In addition, it is estimated that 79 million people are pre-diabetic.
Diabetes is a major cause of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, nervous system disease (neuropathy), blindness and amputations.
Diabetes costs patients $176 billion each year, so it’s easy to see why insurance companies tread lightly when it comes to this illness.
Choose insurance companies that specifically cover diabetics
As is the case with other major diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, the number of people affected by diabetes is so large that insurance companies can’t ignore the group as a potential market.
For that reason, there are insurance companies that will accept life insurance policies for diabetics.
The challenge is locating those companies. It’s not just a matter of finding firms that approve policies for diabetics at an affordable rate, but also finding a company that understands the disease well enough to underwrite your application intelligently.
If you are a diabetic, you need to work with life insurance companies that use clinical underwriting to evaluate your application.
Clinical underwriting looks at your overall level of health, not just your diabetes.
Underwriters are interested in how well you manage your diabetes, and will consider that level of care in both the ultimate policy decision and when setting your premium rates.
Various insurance companies accept life insurance for diabetics, so if you find one, don’t be afraid to shop around for better rates before settling on a company.
Ensure that you are properly managing your diabetes and your overall health
There are some factors you can’t control when it comes to diabetes, and some that you can.
Insurance companies prefer providing life insurance policies for Type 2 diabetics whose onset occurs after age 50, and who lack any other complications related to the disease.
Those are factors you can’t control, but the fact that either has happened to you doesn’t mean that you can’t get life insurance.
At the same time, you need to control what you can.
Insurance companies look at how well you manage your diabetes, as indicated by factors such as your hbA1c level, your weight, diet and exercise habits. These factors matter not only when deciding whether to approve your application, but also when setting premiums.
Overall health is always a factor in insurance underwriting, but because you are a diabetic, you have to be even more focused on it.
In addition, it should go without saying that it’s always better to apply for life insurance before any complications set in.
There may be no perfect policy
While there is an excellent chance that you will find a life insurance policy as a diabetic, it’s also important to realize that it may not be your idea of a perfect policy.
For example, you may find that the cost of a $250,000 policy is prohibitive, forcing you to accept a policy for no more than $50,000.
Though that might not be what you want, it’s still better than having no life insurance at all.
Additionally, though life insurance coverage options for Type 2 diabetics have expanded in recent years, it remains a limited market.
If you keep your expectations in check, you may come away with at least a decent level of coverage at an affordable price.
Never give up, and always work with an insurance agent or broker who specializes in high-risk life insurance policies.
This article originally appeared on MCMHA.org and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Featured Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
