Type 1 Diabetes Life Insurance
If you have Type 1 Diabetes and are looking for Life Insurance then you will need to know about your condition to get the best possible premiums. Some insurance providers are particularly good for Type 1 Diabetes Life Insurance and will offer very competitive rates. The life insurance premiums you pay for Type 1 Diabetes will depend on a number of key factors.
How Type 1 Diabetes Life Insurance works:
Life insurance for people with Type 1 Diabetes will depend on underwriting and criteria is based on a number of key indicators, such as:
- Hba1c reading (within last 6 months)
- Control of Diabetes
- Medication levels (Insulin)
- Date / Age at diagnosis
- Any Diabetic complications
The Insurance Surgery is a leading life insurance expert for people with Type 1 Diabetes and other pre-existing medical conditions. Speak to one of our expert Type 1 Diabetes life insurance experts to find out which insurer is best for you and save money on your premiums.
Most Common Questions:
Is it easy to get Life Insurance with Type 1 Diabetes?
Life insurance for Type 1 Diabetes can be fairly simple to get as long as your condition is well managed and there are few or no Diabetes complications. Some people with mild to moderate Type 1 Diabetes can find that life insurance rates can attract just a small premium loading. For more severe cases where there are serious complications you may find that life insurance for Type 1 Diabetes will either be heavily loaded or even declined.
Can I get any other life insurance products with Type 1 Diabetes?
Until recently, Life Insurance was the only product available to Type 1 Diabetics and products such as Critical Illness and long-term Income Protection were impossible to get. There was an option for short term income protection, but they would exclude any claims related to the Diabetes for the first year of cover. However, there is now a provider who can offer some Type 1 Diabetics long term Income Protection if the client fits their criteria. Currently, for Critical Illness the only option would be our specialist provider, who would exclude the Type 1 Diabetes and anything relating to it for the term of the cover. Private Medical Insurance is easier to obtain, but again, it would exclude any pre-existing conditions from the cover.
Who offers the lowest life insurance premiums for Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 Diabetes life insurance underwriting is constantly changing and evolving which means that insurance providers will usually switch positions in terms of who is cheapest for Type 1 Diabetes. If you already have a life insurance policy and have Type 1 Diabetes then it is always worth reviewing your cover, especially if your health has improved. The Insurance Surgery will review your Type 1 Diabetes life insurance every year with our free Annual Review Service to make sure that your premiums remain low.
Guide to Type 1 Diabetes Life Insurance
Type 1 Diabetes Life Insurance
For someone who has been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and looking for life insurance, results can vary dramatically from one insurance provider to another. Some insurance providers can even offer life insurance premiums for Type 1 Diabetes with no premium loading so can be offered at standard rates, if you were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes over 30 years ago and it is well under control. Usually for a Type 1 Diabetes life insurance application it will require either a medical screening, GP Report from your doctor or a specific report from your Diabetes specialist.
Life insurance for anyone with more severe Type 1 Diabetes can be restrictive due to the additional health risks relating to the condition, such as:
- Heart disease / Stroke
- Foot ulcers / circulation problems
- Kidney conditions
- Nerve damage
- Eye problems (Retinopathy)
Certain additional factors mean that life insurance will be restricted for someone with Type 1 Diabetes, including someone who has had a heart attack, on dialysis or smokers.
Type 1 Diabetes Critical Illness Cover
Unfortunately, as mentioned before, Type 1 Diabetes critical illness cover is not available through any insurance provider, this is due to the fact that Type 1 Diabetics are more susceptible to other medical issues and are therefore too high-risk to be covered. However, this may change now that more companies will consider critical illness cover for Type 2 Diabetes.
The Insurance Surgery as a leading life insurance specialist for pre-existing medical conditions, is constantly campaigning for more products to become available such critical illness cover for Type 1 Diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes Income Protection
Income protection for Type 1 Diabetes is more difficult to obtain than Type 1 Diabetic life insurance however if your diabetes very well controlled and your Hba1c readings are continually at an acceptable level, it is possible that you may be eligible for Diabetic income protection.
For more information about Diabetes, visit our Diabetes life insurance page.
Case Study 1
- Client: Female
- Age: 51
- Smoker status: non-smoker
- Type of diabetes: Type 1
- Cover date: Jan 2019
- Product type: Life Insurance
- Cover amount: £20,000
- Cover term: 25yrs
- Premium: £12.98
We we’re approached by this lady on the 22nd January 2019 after she completed an enquiry through Diabetes.co.uk for diabetic life insurance. Upon receiving this, our advisor Suzie then called her to talk about her medical issues and life insurance needs; this is where she explained that she already had cover with a different company but was looking for cheaper cover. She then explained that she needed £20,000 over a 25-year period; and was a type 1 diabetic non-smoker with a HBA1C reading of 8.6. Due to the fact that she was a non-smoker, with a reasonable HBA1C reading, and the fact that she only needed a relatively small amount of cover, we are able to secure her diabetic life insurance for £12.98 per month with one of our mainstream insurers on the 24th January 2019. We later offered her the option of using our free trust service to put her policy in trust, meaning that upon her death the policy will pay out quicker, to the intended beneficiaries and will help to avoid inheritance tax, which she chose to use. Overall, we were really pleased about being able to secure diabetic life insurance for this lady as it has really helped to take a weight off her shoulders as it is cheaper as her previous policy. Furthermore, we were also pleased to help another customer as we are passionate about protecting families and we want to ensure that we can help as many people as we can have peace of mind and get the required protection that they deserve.
Case Study 2
- Client: Female
- Age: 39
- Smoker status: Non-smoker
- Medical condition: Under active thyroid and type 1 diabetes
- Cover date: 25th September 2019
- Product type: Level life insurance
- Cover amount: £57,000
- Cover term: 30 years
- Premium: £28.77
We were approached by this lady on 19th September 2019 when she completed an application through our partner Diabetes.co.uk. Our advisor Dan then get in touch with her to ask her what life insurance she was looking for and what pre-existing medical conditions she has, at this point she explained that she is a type one diabetic with an underactive thyroid. Dan then asked a few more questions about her medical conditions to find out the severity of these conditions, this is when she explained that her Hba1 is 9.8 and that her doctor has said her diabetic control is satisfactory. Furthering this her underactive thyroid is fully under control and is causing her no issues. She then explained that she needed cover for her mortgage which had £57,000 left over 11 years. With all this information, Dan applied to one of our mainstream providers and managed to secure her £57,000 cover a 11-year period for £28.77 a month on the 25th September 2019. This wait was down to waiting times with the underwriters and the client needing to find a Hba1c reading that was current enough for the application. Overall, this is an amazing outcome and we are delighted that we were able to get her cover.
We are so pleased with this result as her premium is very reasonable for the amount of cover that she needed, especially considering her raised HBA1C reading, which is a little higher than the providers generally like. We love helping people to find the protection they need and want to help as many people as possible get protected so they have peace of mind.
Case Study 3
- Client: Male
- Age: 53
- Smoker status: Non-smoker
- Type of diabetes: Type 1
- Other medical conditions: Osteoarthritis, laser surgery for Diabetic Retinopathy.
- Cover date: 5th April
- Product type: Level Term Assurance Life Cover
- Cover amount: £83,000
- Cover term: 10 years
- Premium: £58.30
We were approached by this gentleman on 3rd April 2019 when he completed an enquiry via diabetes.co.uk. Our advisor Andy called him back to discuss his diabetic life insurance needs. At this point he disclosed that he was a type 1 diabetic non-smoker with a HBA1C reading of 9.4; and he was looking for £83,000 of cover over ten years. In addition he explained that he also has mild osteoarthritis and has had laser eye surgery due to a complication of his diabetes, both which he explained do not cause him any problems that require medication or hospitalisation. The gentleman was only looking for a relatively small amount of cover so he could cover a recent re-mortgage. Andy did some research and found the best cover for him would be with our Diabetic Specialist provider, which was then accepted on application, and the gentleman secured diabetic life insurance of £83,000 over a ten-year period for a monthly premium of £58.30. This is a fantastic premium given the fact client is aged 53, is Type 1 Diabetic and has been since 1986, with a relatively high HBA1C reading and has previously had laser surgery due to Diabetic Retinopathy.
Overall, we were delighted that we were able to secure cover for the gentleman as he now has peace of mind that his re-mortgage would be covered if he were to pass away. We are passionate about protecting families and will always try our hardest to get people the cover that they deserve; no matter the medical condition.
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