Life insurance is the most critical safety net that you’ll ever buy for your family. It’s the best way to ensure that your loved ones have the money that they need, regardless of what happens to you in the future. There is no way that you can avoid death, but you can always plan for the worst.

We know that shopping for life insurance isn’t easy, especially if you have any health complications or pre-existing conditions like diabetes. If you’ve ever tried to apply for life insurance as a person with diabetes, you know that it can be a long and complicated process that can seem impossible, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Don’t let these hurdles keep you from getting the insurance protection that your family deserves.

Diabetes is a highly common condition in the United States, and it’s becoming more prevalent every year. In fact, there are almost 19 million people that have been diagnosed, and scientists suggest that there are another 7 million with undiagnosed diabetes.  The disease can have drastic impacts on the body and have severe consequences if it’s not properly managed. Regardless of your health or any complications like diabetes, you should be able to get the life insurance protection that your family needs, without breaking your bank every month in premiums.

What Is Diabetes And The Different Types

Before we discuss life insurance for people with diabetes, there are a few differences that applicants should take note of, especially if you’re looking to get life insurance for someone other than yourself. Diabetes is a complex chronic condition that has significant impacts on all areas of the person that has the condition.

To fully understand what diabetes is, you need to know about insulin and what it does inside of the body. When you eat any food, your body takes that food and breaks in down into different parts, one of those is sugars, also known as glucose. To help regulate the amount of sugar in your blood, your pancreas releases insulin which is the way that your cells open up to allow the glucose to enter and the glucose is used as energy for the body.

But, if someone is diagnosed with diabetes, their pancreas doesn’t function as it should. Diabetes causes the pancreas to not release not enough insulin or none at all, which can wreak havoc inside of the body if it isn’t properly taken care of.

There are two main types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2, while many people in society get them confused, there are some key differences that are drastically unique. Type 1 diabetes is typically known is “juvenile” diabetes and is seen as the more severe form. It can be diagnosed at any age but is usually found at a young age.

With Type 1 diabetes, the body’s immune system attacks a part of their pancreas. The immune system thinks that the insulin-producing cells are not normal, so they look to destroy them, but that throws off the balance of sugars in the blood system. Researchers aren’t exactly sure what causes Type 1 diabetes, and there is no permanent cure for the disease yet.

With Type 2 diabetes, the condition takes a different form. Type 2 is typically seen as “adult onset” diabetes because it’s usually diagnosed after the age of 35, but it can be diagnosed earlier than that. In type 2 diabetics, they can produce some insulin on their own, but not enough to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood.

Diagnosing And Treating Diabetes

There are dozens of symptoms of diabetes that everyone should be aware of, anything from fatigue to frequent urination, but the actual diagnosing of diabetes should come from your primary physician. If you start experiencing several symptoms like blurry vision, hungrier than usual, weight loss, numbness in your hands or feet, or slow-healing bruises or cuts. If you have any of these symptoms, you should make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.

Treatments for diabetes depends on which type it is. With Type 1 diabetes, the treatments are going to be more intense than with a person with type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes are going to have to take insulin shots several times a day to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. Additionally, they will have to monitor their glucose levels closely to ensure that it doesn’t go too high or drop too low.

Type 2 diabetics, on the other hand, have a simpler treatment option, in fact, in same lesser cases they can control their glucose levels by a healthy diet and getting regular exercise. If the condition is safely managed through the lifestyle changes, you can also take an oral medication that will help lower insulin levels.

Getting Lower Insurance Rates

If you’ve been diagnosed with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, you may assume that you can’t get affordable life insurance coverage, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s discuss Type 1 first, because it tends to be more severe than other types of the condition.

With Type 1 Diabetes, you’re going to have more complications finding an affordable life insurance policy, but it’s not impossible. There are dozens of companies that specialize in covering people with diabetes. These companies have much more experience working with people diagnosed with diabetes. They are much more likely to give you affordable rates and approve you for life insurance.

With Type 2 diabetes, you won’t have nearly as much trouble because the condition is so common. There are hundreds of companies that have accepted applicants with diabetes, but there are still several things that you can do to ensure that you’re getting the best rates available to you.

The first thing that you should do is improve your health, and there are several ways that you can do this. The first thing that you should do is start a healthy diet and get regular exercise. Both of these can help manage your glucose levels, help you weight, lower your blood pressure, and much more. All of these benefits are going to translate into lower insurance rates for your policy.

Additionally, you can improve your health and lower your rates by eliminating any tobacco out of your life. Anyone that uses tobacco is going to pay much more for their insurance coverage than a person that doesn’t. In fact, a smoker is going to pay twice as much than a non-smoker is going to pay for the same amount of life insurance.

The best way to ensure that you’re getting the lowest insurance rates available to you is to work with an independent insurance agent. Unlike a traditional insurance agent, independent agents don’t only work with one single company. Instead, they represent dozens of highly rated companies across the United States.

Every insurance company is going to look at an application differently, which means that you could receive drastically different rates based on the insurance company that you contact. It’s easy to see why it’s vital to get quotes from several companies before deciding which one is going to work best.

No Medical Exam

Maybe diabetes isn’t the only health complication or pre-existing condition that you have. There could be a few other blemishes on your medical record. Regardless of your health, there are several options for life insurance coverage that you can choose from to give your family the protection that they need. One way that you can do that is by choosing a no medical exam plan, these will give you life insurance coverage without being required to take the health exam before being approved.

There are several advantages and disadvantages to these plans that you should be aware of before you pick one of these policies. The first thing that you should know is anyone can purchase one of these plans. Regardless of your health, they will only require you to answer a few simple questions.

The advantages are that you can get these plans much quicker than with a traditional insurance policy. Because you won’t have to wait to schedule the medical exam and wait for the company to review the results, you can get approved for protection in a matter of days versus the several weeks that it can take with a traditional life insurance policy.

On the other side, there are some pitfalls to these plans that don’t measure up to a normal life insurance plan. One disadvantage is that they are going to be more expensive than a plan that requires you to take a medical exam. With a normal plan that requires medical underwriting, the company gets more information about your health, which understands how much risk you are to insure. The better they understand the risk, the lower insurance premiums they can offer.

Another disadvantage is there is going to be a lower limit on how much coverage you can purchase with a no medical exam. Most insurance companies are only going to offer around $25,000 to $50,000 for a plan that doesn’t require that you go through the medical underwriting. For a lot of applicants, this isn’t enough life insurance protection for their family. You can either buy two of these plans or go with a traditional life insurance policy.

Life Insurance With Diabetes

Life insurance is one of the most important investments that you’ll ever make for your family. It’s the best way to ensure that they will have the money that they need if anything tragic were to happen to you, but we know it can be a long and difficult process to find the perfect insurance plan to fit your needs. Because you can’t predict the future, you shouldn’t wait any longer to get a secure life insurance plan in place for your loved ones.

If you have any questions about life insurance with diabetes or you want to get the process started, please contact one of our agents today, and we would be glad to help. It’s our mission to ensure that you’ve got the best insurance protection to fit your needs.