Type 1 Diabetes & Life Insurance

Being diagnosed with diabetes type 1 can bring a mixture of relief and worry; relief that you finally have an answer to why you feel the way that you do, and worry about what the future may hold. Here at Cura, we listen to you and how the diabetes effects your life, and then we find an insurer to match you.

Things we need to know:

• When were you diagnosed with diabetes?
• What is your latest HbA1C reading?
• Do you have high blood pressure? What is the reading?
• Do you have high cholesterol? What is the reading?
• Do you have any complications e.g. diabetic neuropathy?

Life Insurance for those with diabetes is often possible to arrange. If you have no other major health complications it is often possible for some insurance providers to fully underwrite your application at the time of submission. Should you have other medical complications or if your HbA1c reading is quite high, then insurers will likely contact your GP for a full assessment of your health.

Whilst this will delay the start date of your policy it will ensure that the insurance provider issues terms for your policy, based upon their full understanding of your health. GP reports are a standard practice with Life Insurance applications and are nothing to be concerned about, you will not be charged for the report and you can ask to see a copy of the report before it is sent to the company.

As a type 1 diabetic you are likely to receive a premium increase on your Life Insurance, the increase will depend on the length of diagnosis, HbA1c readings and any other health factors. If you have not had the condition for a long time and your HbA1c readings are good you may get accepted with a low premium increase. If however you have been diagnosed for a long time or have high readings your plan may be accepted with a higher premium.

If you are young and a non-smoker the overall cost for insurance is still likely to be low compared to the sum assured on the policy. When you apply for your Life Insurance you should have your latest HbA1c reading to hand (taken with the last 6 months) in order for the insurance provider to be able to underwrite your application.

Unfortunately Critical Illness Cover on the standard insurance market is not available to type 1 diabetics. Some providers have now started to consider cover for well controlled type 2 diabetics and we hope that this will soon follow for type 1 diabetics in the future.

For the time being type 1 diabetics can access specialist critical illness cover, but it is important that you aware that any claim relating to diabetes will be excluded from the policy. We would suggest that you speak to an adviser who is familiar with these policies, so that they can explain to you exactly what you are and are not covered for. 

Income Protection for type 1 diabetics is available with a few insurers, but acceptance criteria is quite strict. Insurers will want to see that your diabetes is well controlled with no complications, it will also be favourable if you were diagnosed in adulthood but this is not essential. There are options to have your condition excluded but there are providers who can, in good conditions, offer cover with a price increase instead.

If you cannot get a long term income protection policy, it may be worthwhile looking into an Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policy. These policies are designed to provide a monthly income replacement for 12-24 months if you are unable to work due to ill health, long term disability or redundancy. The beauty of these products is that they are not medically underwritten at the point of application, so you can have the policy at the same rates as non-diabetics. But you will find that there will be an exclusion on the policy for any claims related to your diabetes. 

Are you planning on going abroad? It is important that you know what your travel insurance covers you for, when it comes to your diabetes. Take a look at our travel insurance page for more details here.