Getting Life Insurance with Type 1

[panda1076]

I am looking to get life insurance, and I know it's more costly having Type 1. Is there any advice anyone can give me about companies to look into or agents to use who are good for people with diabetes? I live in Mass. if that matters.

Thanks!

[artwoman]

Be preapred for a fight. The "medical profrssionals" they have working for the insurance companies have been away from clinical practice for so long that their knowlesdge is archaic! I mean we all have experienced medical people in hospitals who don't have a clue, what can we expect from people who haven't been in the "real" world for 20 years.

I remember trying to get long term care insurance, my A1c is 5.6, I take blood pressure meds for the prophylactic purpose of preventing kidney disease. Because I was on these meds, they turned me down. I asked this "RN" for her fax number and faxed her articles from medical journals about the preventative benefits of blood pressure meds. I still didn't get the coverage but I felt better.

[owlyn]

I have life insurance (whole life, not term) and long term care. I pay a 10% "tax" on the life premium (not bad at all) and no "tax" on the LTC premium. Some LTC companies will insure diabetics and others won't. Met Life does and is a very good company.

[Cyborg]

I recently got turned down by Principal due to my type 1 diabetes. This was a policy to be provided by my new employer. It wasn't a huge policy, but it was free.

But... I still carry life insurance through Principal from a policy I got through an employer before I was diagnosed over 10 years ago. It's for a decent amount and relatively cheap for me to continue. I guess I got the last laugh, but the free policy from my new job would have been a nice addition.

[JediSkipdogg]

Think about it, would you want to insure someone that has a 50% chance of dying from a chronic medical condition?

The problem is though, when someone with diabetes dies, hospitals/coroners won't take the time to see if they truely died from the diabetes or another reason. You have a heart attack and are diabetic and die, you died from diabetes.

All you can really do is call each company and see what they say. I think the ADA also has some info on their website pertaining to this topic with links for further information.

[panda1076]

I have life insurance (whole life, not term) and long term care. I pay a 10% "tax" on the life premium (not bad at all) and no "tax" on the LTC premium. Some LTC companies will insure diabetics and others won't. Met Life does and is a very good company.

Which company is your policy with?

[catgalla]

I have life insurance and I didn't have any problems getting it. I got it through omaha. My agent is Glen Crooker in Everett, MA. He is on Broadway. I had to have blood drawn but they came to my house and did the testing and it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Give them a try.

[owlyn]

My life was written by Chubb, but the company was sold twice, so who knows if the new company would insure you. The Long Term Care is with Met Life. Anyway, you CAN get life insurance at a reasonable cost as long as your A1C is reasonable and you have had no complications.

[sedita]

May not be possible, but try to get on with some sort of group. When I graduated college we were offered a life insurance policy through the alumni association. Probably not the best policy in the world, but they didn't require any personal health information, so I was able to get a policy without any issues.

[AndreLaplume]

Think about it, would you want to insure someone that has a 50% chance of dying from a chronic medical condition?

The problem is though, when someone with diabetes dies, hospitals/coroners won't take the time to see if they truely died from the diabetes or another reason. You have a heart attack and are diabetic and die, you died from diabetes.

All you can really do is call each company and see what they say. I think the ADA also has some info on their website pertaining to this topic with links for further information.

Hmmmm, just what folks with type 1 or newly diagnosed with type 1 want to hear. Ignorant, malinformed depressing, false statements. Please cite the literature that states ***50**** percent of type 1s die from related complications. I hope I misunderstood your quote. Its hard enough fending off ignorance from the outside world but in a forum like this its worse!

[christie]

after my mom was gone last year, i really wanted to get some insurance for myself for my kids, but no one would give me a policy even though then my a1c was 5.1, but i take enalipril ace inhibitor and lovastatin for heart protection but thats a red flag for them, plus i've been t1 since 1983 so i guess i have a clock ticking. so if ill try to get burial insurance when i get old enough, i'd like for my kids to have some money towards college if when i'm gone.

[Simon]

After some Googling I got insurance through an agency that specializes in finding companies for this. I even got critical illness cover for long term care but this does have a diabetic exclusion on it that lists almost everything you can think of. I had a pile of forms to fill in that was about 6 inches thick too! At least I'm covered for cancer or RTA. I do live in the UK though so not much help to you and here the state will also pick up the tab for most long term care.

[Injecto]

In Canuck land we are "technically" offered insurance by Ingle but I tried and my offered premium on a $250,000 life insurance was a whopping $6,000.00 a year no joke. So forget life insurance for me. If I die there is enough money for my family to bury me and that's it. Stupid me though, I had turned down some insurance only a year before because I was too lazy to pick up on it then. Dumb mistake that was.

Now I'm just getting bitter....RRrrrrrr.

[type1since82]

There used to be a company called US Financial that did clinical underwriting in life insurance that would give type I diabetics standard rates if under good control. They were bought out a few months ago and I was upset that I didn't get my act together in time to get a policy through them.
I went through Ash Brokerage and got some reasonable rates on whole and universal rates through Met and Lincoln Benefit Life.
Term is cheaper to get for everyone no matter what your health. Several insurance companies ask 5 or so upfront questions that typically include 'are you a type 1 diabetic' and if so, they will auto-decline you even if you have better A1c's than a type II... sad situation really.
Several of the term policies have the option to covert to a permanent plan at some point during the contract without evidence of insurability at that point - so look into that option if you are looking for a permanent policy, but can't find good rates.
Good Luck! Maybe life insurers will put some effort into researching Type I Diabetes and realize that those who are in control really have a good insurable interest.

[NoelD]

A member here referred me to a family member of theirs, which is a rep for NYLife, great rates if you have decent control.