There are currently 4 out of the thousands of insurance companies available in the U.S. right now that may offer some diabetics a preferred life insurance rate, but 90% or more of all diabetics won’t usually qualify for a preferred rate.
We had 1 semi-recent case offered preferred, but it was only on permanent life insurance…not term.
I’ll elaborate more on the companies that may currently offer “preferred” rates to diabetics down below.
There was also a company 10+ year ago called U.S. Financial Life that would offer preferred term life insurance rates to some diabetics, but they’re no longer offering life insurance at all…
Pay more attention to the actual cost, forget the rate class
U.S. Financial’s preferred rates were equivalent in cost to other companies standard or regular rates, and even equivalent to some companies table 2 rates…
But it was a great ploy to get many diabetics to feel good about getting a “preferred” life insurance rate.
Could it be that they closed up shop because they got too many claims, I’m not sure…
But they closed up shop very quickly after AXA Equitable took them over.
Why You Can’t (usually) Get A Preferred Diabetic Life Insurance Rate
Diabetes is the body’s inability to utilize glucose. So what’s the big deal?
Glucose is our supply of energy, it’s the fuel that allows us to live.
But what happens if glucose cannot get out of the bloodstream and into the cell?
The first thing to happen is that the level of glucose in the bloodstream begins to rise.
As the glucose begins to rise, its eventual passage into the cell will cause damage to the cell and to the very small vessels called capillaries.
Think of glucose as sand in the bloodstream, the more sand (glucose) the more damage to the vessels and the end organs, such as: the kidneys, the heart, eyes, the peripheral vascular system and many other systems.
Diabetes increases likelihood of other health issues
Based on statistics from the American Diabetes Association, adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes.
The risk for stroke is also 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes.
We have been asked the question “I’m diabetic, why can’t I get a preferred rate” so many times…
So the above info is really why life insurance companies charge more to most diabetics.
What Life Insurance Companies are Really Good for Diabetics Now
Fortunately, there are a handful of life insurance companies that will make much better offers to diabetics than the majority will.
A and A+ rated companies like John Hancock, Prudential, Principal Life, Lincoln National, American General, United States Life, William Penn and Banner Life are all currently really aggressive companies for diabetics and will many times offer the best diabetic life insurance rates.
They definitely aren’t the only aggressive companies for diabetics as we’ve found others that have beaten offers by all of the companies above on some occasions.
You Gotta Shop Around…and Hold Your Agent Accountable
You really have to shop to make sure you’re dealing with a broker or website that has a lot of experience with diabetes cases and that really cares about getting you the best offer.
If you provide an accurate A1C and other health information to your agent up front and then you don’t qualify for the rates you were quoted, you need to hold your agent accountable and get specifics as to why you did not qualify for the rates that you were originally quoted.
Don’t accept any policy if you’re not satisfied with the rate you’re offered.
We’ve been working since 1969 to get our clients the best available diabetic life insurance rates. We’ve been able to get the best available rates for diabetics because we have long-term relationships with all the top insurance companies and we can simultaneously get offers from multiple diabetic-friendly insurance companies.
What’s Required to Get Preferred Diabetic Life Insurance Rate
First thing is that you must be over age 60 or 70 at the time you apply for life insurance.
Diagnosis really needs to have been made over the previous 5 to 10 years.
A1C must be 7.0 or less, with no past or present diabetic complications and overall health must check out as good otherwise (i.e. good cholesterol levels, BP, kidney functions, etc.).
My personal belief, after shopping so many cases, is that even the companies that claim to offer preferred will usually find some reason to not offer preferred…and which is why we ALWAYS put the pressure on!!
Best Case Scenario Diabetic Life Insurance Rates
Let’s take a look at what all of the competitive insurance companies may offer very well controlled later age onset diabetics that are in good health otherwise…
Important to remember that underwriting guidelines are always changing and the rate for which you’ll actually qualify will be determined by MANY different variables, so all of the info here is for best case scenario rates right now:
Say you’re age 70, and you’re a super well controlled type 2 diabetic diagnosed after age 60 and in good health otherwise…the companies that claim to possibly offer Preferred rates are:
John Hancock
Lincoln National
Principal Life
Zurich Life
Pay attention as this can get confusing
These companies that may offer you a Preferred (2nd best) term rate could actually have a higher cost than the company that may offer you their Regular Plus (3rd best) rate…
Not only that, but the insurance company that may offer you the best 20 year term rate could have a higher cost than the best GUL rates that are guaranteed to your age 90 or 95…
I know, I know, you’re thinking “what the hell should I actually apply for, if I want the best diabetic life insurance rate”?
We have the solution to make your life easier…and can easily have you apply to multiple carriers at one time, and then we’ll negotiate for best offer because it will take negotiation and pressure!!!!
Best thing to get started is to CLICK HERE and complete this no obligation diabetes questionnaire
Or Click Here to email me and just ask for the FREE Diabetes Report…and I’ll tell you all the companies that may offer you Preferred, Regular Plus or Regular rates (assuming you’re over age 40 or 50 now).
If you do email me, tell me a little about yourself as I cannot just send this to anyone as the insurance companies will NOT be happy with me if they find out I’m providing this to the general public…
I don’t want to lose my license to do business with ANY companies for providing you with this HIGHLY confidential information!!
This will save you a TON of time trying to make sense of what your best options really are.
Something else you should consider is that even most non-diabetics over age 60, 65 or 70 won’t qualify for preferred rates, so don’t be discouraged.
Let me know how I can help you…if you’d prefer to speak instead of clicking on one of the links above, you can call me at 1-800-380-3533 or start a chat with me using chat bubble in lower right hand corner.
See all our articles on life insurance for diabetics:
- No Medical Exam Life Insurance for Diabetics
- Adult Onset Diabetic Life Insurance
- Why Can’t I Get a Preferred Diabetic Life Insurance Rate?
- Life Insurance with Protein in Urine
- Tough Diabetic Life Insurance Cases
- Strategy For Diabetics To Get Best Life Insurance Rate