Type 2 Diabetes Life Insurance
People with Type 2 Diabetes wanting Life Insurance, Critical Illness Cover or Income Protection will usually find significant differences in underwriting from one insurance provider to another. Type 2 Diabetes life insurance is dependent on a number of health and medical factors to determine your level of risk. Our Type 2 Diabetes life insurance page looks at how your application will be assessed and what it means to the premiums you might pay.
How it works:
If you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and are looking for life insurance, your application will be assessed based on a number of factors, such as:
- Hba1c readings (within last 6 months)
- Date diagnosed
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Height / Weight (BMI)
- What if you're on medication
- Any other pre-existing medical conditions
The Insurance Surgery is a leading life insurance expert for Type 2 Diabetes and other pre-existing medical conditions. Our highly skilled team of expert advisors will help to guide you to the best insurance providers to suit your medical circumstances to protect your loved family or your business.
Most Common Questions:
Can I get Life Insurance for Type 2 Diabetes?
In most cases is it very possible to get covered for life insurance if you have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Some of the main reasons why you may find it difficult to get life insurance with Type 2 Diabetes are:
- BMI is too high
- Being a smoker
- Poor control (High Hba1c, Blood pressure or Cholesterol)
- Diabetes related issues (e.g. Retinopathy, Neuropathy or Nephropathy)
Type 2 Diabetes life insurance underwriting is constantly evolving and has become much more lenient with lower premiums in recent years.
Will I pay more for Type 2 Diabetes Life Insurance?
Generally there will be a loading applied to your life insurance premiums for Type 2 Diabetes because of the additional lifestyle and health risks. Life insurance premium loadings for life insurance will range from +50% (x1.5) all the way up to possible decline for much more severe cases. However, there is a chance that you may pay standard rates for your cover if your Hba1c readings over the past have been at an acceptable level (usually under 7), you have been diagnosed less than 5 years ago, and have exceptional health, other than the diabetes.
Can I get Critical Illness Cover with Type 2 Diabetes?
There are a handful of life insurance providers who have started to offer Critical Illness Cover for Type 2 Diabetes which is a big step forwards. Unfortunately the underwriting criteria for Critical Illness Cover and Type 2 Diabetes is still quite restrictive so can be difficult to be accepted (see below).
Will my premiums Life Insurance premiums increase if my Type 2 Diabetes gets worse?
The Insurance Surgery will almost always recommend guaranteed premiums for Type 2 Diabetes life insurance and most other pre-existing medical conditions. If your life insurance premiums are guaranteed it means that they cannot change regardless of what happens in future to you and your health.
Can I improve my Type 2 Diabetes Life Insurance premiums?
There are a number of behavioural, lifestyle and health improvements that can influence your life insurance premiums for Type 2 Diabetes. Some elements that can influence and reduce your life insurance premiums are:
- Weight loss (if BMI is high)
- Stop smoking (non-smoker after 12 months smoke free)
- Medication
- Control Hba1c levels (if high, or on rare occasions low)
- Reduce blood pressure (if high, or on rare occasions low)
- Reduce cholesterol (if high, or on rare occasions low)
Guide to Life Insurance for Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes Life Insurance
If you are looking for life insurance and have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes then there are a number of key factors that you will need to consider. Most applications for Type 2 Diabetes life insurance will require a medical screening, GP Report or telephone medical appointment depending on severity and insurance provider. In recent years with medical advances and improvements in life insurance underwriting for Type 2 Diabetes it is now possible to be accepted online for some less severe cases.
For more severe cases of Type 2 Diabetes such as, High Hba1c levels (poor control), Smokers, High Cholesterol or Blood Pressure then you may find that there might be a bigger loading for your life insurance premiums or even declined cover.
Type 2 Diabetes Critical Illness Cover
Critical Illness Cover for Type 2 Diabetes has only become available again in the past several years and is only available through a handful of insurance providers. Some providers will offer Type 2 Diabetes critical illness cover with no medical exclusions and some will offer critical illness cover with some exclusions such as cardiovascular related conditions. Most applications for Type 2 Diabetes critical illness cover will require a medical screening, GP Report or a telephone medical appointment to support your application. Unless your diabetes is very well controlled, and you have great health (i.e. no other medical conditions) then you should expect to pay a higher premium for your Diabetes critical illness cover, moreover providers may exclude some medical conditions from your cover that Type 2 Diabetics are prone to, for example eye problems.
Some reasons why you may be declined critical illness cover with Type 2 Diabetes are:
- Hba1c levels too high (e.g. above 8.0)
- Diabetes complications (e.g. Retinopathy, Neuropathy or Nephropathy)
- Smoker
- High Blood Pressure or High Cholesterol
Currently critical illness cover and Type 2 Diabetes is available to a relatively small percentage of applications where there are no major related issues. Life Insurance providers are constantly developing underwriting criteria and The Insurance Surgery works with a number of major insurance providers to improve products / underwriting, such as for Type 2 Diabetes critical illness cover.
Type 2 Diabetes Income Protection
Income protection for Type 2 Diabetes can be obtained and we do see a small number of applications accepted, however underwriting is similar to critical illness cover. In all cases we see there is a 100% loading (2x) to the premiums and some applications are offered with medical exclusions which is also similar to critical illness cover underwriting.
Also, income protection for Type 2 Diabetes is only available for people with no Diabetes related complications (e.g. Retinopathy, Neuropathy or Nephropathy), controlled Hba1c levels (usually below 8.0) or for non-smokers.
For more information about Diabetes, visit our Diabetes Life Insurance page
To compare Travel Insurance quotes visit: Diabetes Travel Insurance
Case Study 1
- Client: Male
- Age: 43
- Smoker status: Non-smoker
- Medical condition: Type 2 Diabetes, High blood pressure and High cholesterol
- Cover date: March 2020
- Product type: Increasing life insurance
- Cover amount: £200,000
- Cover term: 25 years
- Premium: £36.68
We were approached by this gentleman in March 2020 when he completed an enquiry through diabetes.co.uk. Our advisor then got in contact with him to discuss his life insurance needs and his pre-existing medical conditions. At this point he confirmed that he was looking for £200,000 over a 25-year period to cover his mortgage and to leave something behind for his family. He then went on to explain that he was a type 2 diabetic with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and had previously had bowel polyps removed. Our protection advisor then took this information and applied the gentleman to one of our mainstream providers and managed to secure him £200,000 of life insurance cover for a 25-year period for a monthly premium of £36.68. This is an amazing premium considering the gentleman’s medical history and the amount of cover he wanted. Overall, the he was very pleased that we were able to find him cover at a price that he could afford as he now has peace of mind that his mortgage and family will be protected should he pass away unexpectedly.
As a whole, we were delighted that we were able to get protection for another customer, so that he now knows that he is covered should the worst happen. It is a great feeling when we find cover for a customer, especially if they have been struggling due to a pre-existing medical condition. We are passionate about protecting families and we want to help as many people as possible to get covered.
Case Study 2
- Client: Male
- Age: 48
- Smoker status: Non-smoker
- Medical condition: MS, Type 2 Diabetes and raised cholesterol
- Cover date: March 2020
- Product type: Life Cover
- Cover amount: £50,000
- Cover term: 20 years
- Premium: £38.64
We were approached by this gentleman in March 2020 when he completed an enquiry through our site. Our advisor then received his enquiry and got in touch with the gentlemen to discuss his life insurance needs and his pre-existing medical conditions. At this point he disclosed that he was looking for £100,000 of cover over 20 years, and that he has mild MS, type 2 diabetes and raised cholesterol which he takes medication for. Our advisor then took this information and researched the best provider for him. He then contacted the gentleman with some quotes, however unfortunately, due to the combination of MS and type 2 diabetes, the premiums for £100,000 of cover were out of the gentleman’s budget, so he decided to reduce the cover amount to £50,000. Therefore, on the 21st March 2020 our advisor managed to secure the gentleman £50,000 of cover over 20 years for a monthly premium of £38.64. This is an amazing premium considering the fact that MS and type 2 diabetes add a significant loading onto the premium, as well as the added risk of raised cholesterol.
Overall, we were overjoyed with the outcome as the gentleman now has the peace of mind that if he were to pass away, his family would be protected. The gentleman was also pleased with the result as he now has the protection that he previously did not have, and he has peace of mind that his family are protected.
Case Study 3
- Client: Male
- Age: 42
- Smoker status: Non Smoker
- Type of diabetes: Type 2 Diabetes
- Cover date: 25th March 2020
- Product type: Decreasing Life Insurance
- Cover amount: £185,000
- Cover term: 25 years
- Premium: £67.69
We were approached by this gentleman on the 3rd October 2019 when he made an enquiry through our partners website, Diabetes.co.uk. Our advisor then got in touch with the gentleman to discuss his life insurance needs and any pre-existing medical conditions that he has. This is when he explained that he is in the process of buying a house and that he was looking for £185,000 of cover over a 25-year period to cover his mortgage. He also went onto explain that he has a number of medical conditions including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, tinnitus, IBS, asthma and sleep apnoea. He explained that most of them are mild and well controlled, and that he is on medication as a result. Due to the amount of different medical issues that the gentleman has, our advisor had to apply the gentleman to one of our specialist providers. The whole process took time as due to the combination of medical conditions the provider needed a GP report from the gentleman’s GP to allow them to further assess the case to see if they could offer and how much the premium would be. Therefore, on the 25th March 2020 our protection advisor managed to secure the gentleman £185,000 of cover over a 25-year period for a monthly premium of £67.69.
This is a brilliant outcome as our protection advisor was able to find the gentleman the protection that he needs and deserves; and his premium is reasonable considering the numerous health conditions that he has. The gentleman was delighted with this outcome as he was uncertain if he would be able to find cover, and he now has peace of mind that his mortgage is protected. We were also delighted with this result as we have helped another customer to get protected.
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