The Cheapest Term Life Insurance for Diabetics, Guaranteed!

Medical conditions such as diabetes play a big role in your life insurance eligibility.

Though each individual provider judges the same medical conditions differently, you can be sure that your diabetes will in some way affect the overall rates and coverage you receive.

The key to finding the best coverage is not only targeting the right providers (in this case those that are diabetes friendly) but also understanding your own needs and preferences.

If your goal is quick and easy coverage that’s also affordable, term life insurance coverage from a diabetes-friendly provider is likely your best option.

Here’s how to find the best and cheapest term life insurance for diabetics.

First, What is Term Life Insurance?

The two main categories of life insurance are term life insurance and whole life insurance.

We’re going to focus on term life insurance, specifically applied to those with diabetes, today.

Term life insurance, often shortened to term life, is more simple and straightforward than whole life and usually has much lower rates.

The main difference between term life and whole life is term life covers you for a pre-established time period while whole life is permanent.

In other words, if you die within the pre-established term, your term life insurance will provide the financial benefit to your dependents. If you die outside of this pre-established term, the policy will not cover your dependents.

Unlike whole life plans or burial life insurance policies, there are few, if any, other benefits. Term life does not include cash accrual or other benefits of additional value like whole life.

Most term life plans are available in 10, 20, or 30-year terms. Both the payout (aka the death benefit) and cost (aka the monthly premium) remain the same the entire term.

Term Life vs Whole Life

The big question when looking for life insurance is whether term life or whole life is best for you.

While it’s certainly true that whole life offers more extensive coverage, it’s also much more expensive. Not only that, but whole life insurance is also much more difficult to qualify for, especially with a pre-existing medical condition like diabetes.

The main benefit of whole life over term life is that it’s permanent. There is no term. It lasts until the end of your life.

This arguably provides more peace of mind to policyholders. You know that no matter what your beneficiaries will receive a death benefit upon your passing. There is no time limit involved with this payout.

In addition to the above-mentioned cash accrual component of many whole life policies, there is also the option for earning annual dividends on the policy.

Once again, the big benefit of term life is that eligibility is more open.

You can qualify for it even if you have a pre-existing medical condition. In fact, some people with diabetes can even qualify for no exam term life insurance which doesn’t require a medical exam.

We recommend considering your own needs and preferences, as well as the specifics of your diabetes (most importantly, what “type” you have and how “well” it’s been managed), before making a decision.

What is Diabetes?

One of the most difficult aspects of diabetes is many people who have it don’t actually know they have it.

Many of the symptoms don’t present themselves in obvious ways, at least early on in its progression, and don’t show themselves until much later.

That means that a lot of people don’t start treating or managing their diabetes until it becomes severe. This lack of early treatment in itself affects your life insurance eligibility.

That’s why it’s so important to not only understand what diabetes is, but also what it’s symptoms are and the early signs to look for.

In short, diabetes is a medical condition that causes your blood sugar levels to rise higher than the normal level. Glucose is the specific culprit.

According to Diabetes.org, type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes (affecting over 27 million Americans), is caused because your body cannot use insulin properly.

Known as insulin resistance, your body attempts to fight this problem first by creating more insulin in the pancreas to fight the high blood sugar levels. After some time though, the body isn’t able to keep creating enough insulin to keep up with this.

Type 1 diabetes is slightly different in that the bodies of people with this form of the condition can’t produce insulin at all. However, because type 2 diabetes is much more common we’re going to focus on it for our purposes here.

When it’s left untreated, type 2 diabetes can cause serious problems. These complications include heart disease and stroke. Some people with untreated diabetes also require amputations or lose their vision.

This is why recognizing the early signs of diabetes is so important. Common early symptoms include increased thirst and frequent urination as well as fatigue and blurred vision.

Weight gain or weight loss is another sign.

There are several ways to treat and manage type 2 diabetes including a healthy diet, regular exercise, abstaining from smoking, and taking medications, such as insulin, as directed.

How Type 2 Diabetes Affects Your Life Insurance Options

Type 2 diabetes will affect your life insurance options – there’s no getting around that.

Fortunately, it’s still possible to qualify for coverage with the condition. In fact, even though it’s far easier to qualify for term life insurance, some people with diabetes will be able to qualify for whole life insurance.

However, term life coverage is much easier to qualify for with diabetes and will be much cheaper overall.

Remember that the life insurance application process consists of multiple questions regarding your health and lifestyle. Several of these will deal directly with your diabetes.

Be prepared to answer questions involving:

• Your A1C levels
• Your typical fasting blood sugar level
• The age you were diagnosed
• Medications you are taking
• Any complications you’ve experienced

You should also expect to answer several questions regarding your overall health as well as your lifestyle.

The life insurance underwriters want to make sure that you are making healthy lifestyle choices, including regular exercise and a healthy diet, that can help manage the severity of your diabetes.

The underwriters will use the information in your application to assess your overall risk to their company. This risk assessment is then used to classify you into a rating class that then equates to the rate you must pay.

Most of those with controlled diabetes (through medication and lifestyle) will still be able to qualify for a standard rating class. Some are even able to qualify for a preferred rating class if their diabetes management is extremely well documented and the condition was diagnosed later in life.

There’s also the option of applying for no exam life insurance. These term life policies don’t require a medical exam (or much medical information at all).

Term life policies can save you a ton of money on coverage, as well as time, especially if you don’t believe you’ll qualify (or you don’t want) whole life coverage to begin with.

Finding the Best Cheap Term Life Insurance with Diabetes

Not all life insurance providers offer the same rates on term life insurance for diabetics.

The goal of finding the cheapest rates is to shop around. Look at the rates offered by several providers and shop around. Select the one who is most affordable yet still meets all your needs.

Another key tip is to target diabetes-friendly life insurance providers. Because diabetes is such a common problem in the United States, many providers are becoming increasingly lenient towards non-severe cases, especially type 2 diabetes.

At LifeInsuranceDiabetics.com, we can do all of this for you, at no cost. Trust us, and get the insurance you deserve.