If you suffer from diabetes you may be worried that your condition may affect your chances of securing life insurance.
Having type 1 or 2 diabetes most likely won’t prevent you from securing the cover, However, it will be considered as a pre-existing condition which can mean your policy may require different underwriting to those taking out a policy on standard terms.
Life insurance is an excellent way of protecting your loved ones if the worst were to happen. You’ll choose your policy type (level term, decreasing term whole of life or an over 50s plan), how long you’d like to be covered for, as well as how much money you’d like paid out.
If you pass away during the term of your policy, a pay-out will be made to your loved ones to help reduce any financial stress. They can use the payout how they see fit. Most commonly it’s used to pay off a mortgage, cover day to day living costs and pay for funeral expenses.
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Tips on Securing Life Insurance with Diabetes
Award-winning broker, Reassured, provides some top tips on securing life insurance with diabetes:
Always be honest
The saying is true, honesty really is the best policy and this is especially true when it comes to life insurance.
Insurers will need to gather information about your condition in order to calculate the price you pay for your monthly premium. They’ll need to know what type of diabetes you suffer from, if you’re on any medication, your BMI and if there have been any other health complications as a result of your diabetes(1).
If your diabetes is mild you might be able to take out a policy with standard terms, but if your condition is more severe, you may experience inflated premiums. Insurers inflate their premium prices to compensate for the increased risk you pose to them. The greater the risk, the greater the premium.
For this reason, it can seem tempting to lie about certain aspects of your application. However, this can end up costing you more in the long run. Not only is lying on your application a form of insurance fraud, but it can lead to your loved ones being denied a payout after you’ve passed away.
Read: Diabetic Diet Plan
Keep notes
This is probably something you already do for your own personal records, but keeping track of your symptoms and treatment will allow you to provide more up to date information about your condition.
During the application process, you’ll need to provide certain information about your condition and it’s not unusual for insurers to ask you to undergo a medical exam so they can get a better understanding of how your diabetes affects you.
Having a chat with your doctor or GP before you start your application can give you all the information you might need.
By having the most up to date information to hand you can be ready for the insurers questioning, this can work in your favour as it will demonstrate that you’re managing your condition well.
Read: Why You Need To See A Podiatrist If You’re Diabetic
Shop around
If you were looking for a good deal for a TV, you wouldn’t just go for the first one you found on Google. You’d look around and find the TV with the spec you wanted, at a price within your budget.
Life insurance is no different and comparing quotes is the best way to make sure you’re getting a good deal.
Different insurers have different underwriting processes so just because one provider offers you a quote that’s over your budget because of your diabetes, doesn’t mean they will all be the same.
You can conduct the research yourself, use a comparison site or you could…
Use a broker
A broker will do all the hard work for you and compare policies from different insurers on your behalf. By doing this they can find you quotes that are within your budget.
If you’ve had difficulty in the past trying to secure cover due to your diabetes (or even if you’ve been declined before) a broker can provide you with information about which insurer will most likely offer you cover.
What’s more, brokers, such as Reassured or LifeSearch, often work with specialist insurers. So if you struggle to obtain coverage through a mainstream provider, there’s still hope.
You’ll also benefit from a wealth of industry knowledge from their representatives and you’ll have quick and easy support, which you may not get when using a comparison site.