In order to be completely prepared for your life insurance application, you need to know what an insurance underwriter is going to ask you.
I’ve said before that applying for life insurance with diabetes takes some strategy and planning.
An underwriter is not going to look at what your blood sugar level is on the day you apply for coverage. They will be looking at an overall picture of your management and this includes your a1c, which measures your glucose levels for the previous three months.
Are you actively monitoring your blood sugar? If not, then you need to start now because it will have a huge effect on the whether or not you can obtain life insurance coverage and what health rating you get.
Diabetes Health Questionnaire – What An Underwriter Wants To Know
When you apply for life insurance, you will fill out a life insurance application. This will either be a paper application or an application online, depending on the route you take.
If you are diabetic, most companies will give you an additional questionnaire that will ask more specific questions about your diabetes care and history.
This is a general overview of the questions you could be asked. This will give you an idea of what to expect when you apply for life insurance with diabetes, and also so you can be sure you even know or have access to the information requested.
- What was your date of diagnosis?
- What was your age at onset?
- What is your most recent hemoglobin a1c reading?
- What was the date of that reading?
- How often do you visit your doctor for a diabetic checkup?
- How do you control your blood sugar? Diet / exercise, insulin, or oral meds?
- If you take insulin, how many units per day?
- If you take an oral medication, which one(s)?
- What is your current height and weight?
- What was your weight one year ago? If there is any change, why?
- What is your average fasting blood sugar?
- What is your blood pressure?
An underwriter will also want to know if you have any complications stemming from diabetes. They will specifically look into whether you currently have or had in the past:
- Coronary artery disease
- Stroke
- Neuropathy
- Retinopathy
- Kidney disease
- Elevated lipids
- Protein in your urine
If you answer yes to any questions pertaining to the above health concerns, it will not be possible to get a traditional life insurance policy, though there are other options that fall under the category of impaired risk.
You can still purchase a no exam life insurance plan or a guaranteed issue insurance policy. These policies will allow you to get insurance coverage without being required to take the medical exam. With a guaranteed issue policy, you can get insurance protection, regardless of what your health is.
There are several advantages to no exam plans that you should take note of when you’re shopping for coverage. It’s important that you’re getting the best insurance protection for your loved ones. These no exam plans are a great option for thousands of applicants, but they don’t work well for everyone.
The biggest advantage to these plans is that it allows a much larger audience to get coverage. It’s important that your family has the insurance protection that they need, and your diabetes diagnosis shouldn’t prevent you from getting it. A no medical exam policy will allow you to buy coverage without the fear of being declined.
Another advantage of these policies is how quickly you can be approved for insurance. With a traditional policy, you could wait up to a month to get insurance coverage, but with a no exam plan, you can get approved for protection in a matter of days. If you’re wanting to get life insurance as quickly as possible, a no exam plan is going to be the best option.
There are a few drawbacks to these plans that you should be aware of as well. The most notable one is that these policies are going to be more expensive than a traditional policy. The purpose of the exam is to give the company an idea of what your overall health is and how much risk you are to insure. Without that exam, the insurance company is taking a great risk, which they are going to offset by charging you higher premiums.
What Does An Underwriter Do With This Information?
Underwriting decisions for diabetes are dependent on a lot of different factors so they look at your overall picture to determine your risk to the company. The biggest things an underwriter looks at is the type of diabetes you have, your age of diagnosis and, of course, how well you control your blood sugar levels.
There are a large number of carriers that will offer a Standard Rating with an ideal health profile. There is one company that currently makes it possible to get a preferred rate if you fall under certain criteria and your health is excellent.
Saving Money On Life Insurance With Diabetes
One of the most common misconceptions about life insurance with diabetes is that policies are going to cost a fortune. In most cases, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Even as an applicant with diabetes, there are several options for affordable insurance coverage. Making a few simple lifestyle changes can save you thousands of dollars on your insurance premiums.
The first thing that you should do is cut the cigarettes. If you’re listed as a smoker on your application, then you should expect to pay much higher premiums for your insurance protection. If you smoke cigarettes, you’re at a much higher risk for cancer and cardiovascular complications, which means that you’re a much higher risk for the insurance company. They are going to offset that risk by charging you higher premiums. In fact, smokers are going to pay twice as much for life insurance versus what a non-smoker is going to pay for the same sized plan. If you want to save money, you’ll need to kick those cigarettes to the curb once and for all.
The next thing that you should do to get lower premiums is to improve your overall health. Before the insurance company approves your policy, they are going to require that you take a medical exam, and your diabetes diagnosis is only one of the factors that they are going to review when deciding how much to charge you for coverage. The two best ways to improve your overall health is to start a diet and get regular exercise. Both of these can help you lose those extra pounds, manage your blood sugar levels, and reduce your risks of being diagnosed with other health complications. If you’re overweight, you could be 50% more for your life insurance plan. Hitting the gym and skipping the junk food can save you thousands of dollars throughout the course of the insurance policy.
Work With An Independent Agent To Get Assistance With Finding The Best Company For You
There’s no question that underwriting standards are all over the board when it comes to life insurance and diabetes. If you are a type 1 diabetic with excellent control and you apply to five companies, you are likely to get five different rates or offers. You may bet approved by two and turned down by three. Or you may be offered standard rates by one and substandard rates by four. The same with type 2 diabetes.
That ‘s why it takes planning and know-how when you apply for an affordable life insurance for diabetics policy. An experienced independent agent will have access to dozens of companies and will know what the underwriting standards for them are, so they can steer you to the sweet spot – the company that has the most favorable rates for your unique needs. The bottom line – work with an independent agent and compare rates from multiple companies in order to get the most affordable policy today.
You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, which means that you shouldn’t wait any longer to get the life insurance protection that your family deserves. If something tragic were to happen to you, your family would be responsible for a massive amount of debt and other expenses. Losing a loved one is never going to be easy, but being left with thousands and thousands of dollars of debt is going to make the situation that much worse, but that’s where your life insurance plan comes in.
If you have any questions about getting life insurance with diabetes, please contact one of our independent agents today. We would be happy to answer those questions and connect you with the best plan to meet your needs. We have years of experience helping applicants with diabetes get the best insurance at an affordable price.