Life Insurance for Diabetics: Find the Best Companies and Lowest Rates
People with diabetes typically find it more challenging to shop for life insurance, and policies are often significantly more expensive than average. MoneyGeek researched insurance quotes and company ratings to help people with diabetes find the best life insurance policy.
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We analyzed thousands of life insurance quotes for people with diabetes and other health complications so you can find the best life insurance policy for your needs at the lowest price.
For many, getting the best life insurance comes down to finding a company that offers the highest amount of coverage at the lowest rates. Finding the best deal on life insurance for diabetics can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.
More than 1 in 10 Americans has diabetes, and as many as 95% of people with diabetes have Type 2 diabetes, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2020 National Diabetes Statistics Report. Because such a high percentage of the population lives with this condition, life insurance companies look at how well you manage your diabetes as a key indicator of what rates you qualify for.
Other factors assessed by life insurance companies include the severity of diabetes, what type you have and your treatment plan. This information helps determine whether you qualify for coverage.
MoneyGeek has found the best life insurance for people with diabetes, whether you’re looking for term or whole life insurance.
- Six Best Life Insurance Companies for People With Diabetes:
— Best Overall for Type 2 Diabetics
— Best Overall for Type 1 Diabetics
— Best Cheap Term Life for Diabetics
— Best With a Complicated Medical History
— Best for No Medical Exams
— Best Whole Life for Diabetics
Resources:
Best Overall for Type 2 Diabetics: John Hancock
pros
Program is specific to diabetics
Life insurance discounts for making healthy choices
Diabetic resources, tools and education, including virtual consults with experts through Aspire program
cons
Not available in Idaho, New York or Puerto Rico
Aspire is not currently available on Simple Term with Vitality or final expense whole life products
Online quotes are not available
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
MoneyGeek Score: 78.8
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 730.2
AM Best Rating: A+
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.66
MoneyGeek's Take: John Hancock’s Aspire with Vitality program combines life insurance with a wellness program designed specifically for people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. It includes valuable savings on life insurance for making healthy choices.
Because of its Aspire program, John Hancock leads the pack for best life insurance for Type 2 diabetes. The Aspire rider combines John Hancock life insurance with companies Vitality and Onduo to incentivize people with diabetes to make healthy choices.
The Vitality program can cost as little as $2 per month and may be added as a rider to any John Hancock fully-underwritten life insurance policy. Vitality offers ways to track and identify health and lifestyle goals, with rewards for making healthy choices.
Onduo works in conjunction with your diabetes treatment plan, offering clinical and coaching support and diabetes tools you can use to live a healthy life.
You can save up to 25% on your John Hancock life insurance for diabetics premium by making healthy choices. The savings don’t end there, as there is an option to get a complimentary Amazon Halo or a significant discount on the most recent Apple Watch.
The Vitality program also provides travel, retail and grocery discounts, and complimentary Amazon Prime membership. Onduo sends people with Type 2 diabetes a customized free diabetes kit with virtual access to diabetes experts and personalized health coaching.
Policy Types Offered:
- Term
- Indexed universal life
- Variable universal life
- Universal life
Best Overall for Type 1 Diabetics: Mutual of Omaha
pros
Online quotes available
Fully underwritten and guaranteed-issue policies available
Competitive underwriting and rates
Favorable customer satisfaction and financial strength ratings
cons
Slow approval process
Rates can be high with other health concerns
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
MoneyGeek Score: 90.8
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 783.4
AM Best Rating: A+
NAIC Complaint Index: 1.20
MoneyGeek’s Take: Mutual of Omaha offers competitive pricing for life insurance for Type 1 diabetes and a guaranteed issue whole life policy for people with diabetes over the age of 45.
Mutual of Omaha’s competitive underwriting for life insurance for Type 1 diabetes makes its policies a top choice for people with diabetes. Mutual of Omaha offers term, whole life and universal life insurance policies that require full underwriting for people with diabetes.
Term life insurance comes in customizable terms of 10, 15, 20 and 30 years for those aged 18 to 80, starting at $100,000 in coverage. Mutual of Omaha offers universal life and indexed universal life with coverage starting at $25,000, up to $500,000 or more, based on financial needs. Mutual of Omaha offers some of the best life insurance rates for Type 1 diabetics, but not everyone will be approved.
For those between 45 and 85, Mutual of Omaha has a guaranteed-issue whole life insurance policy with coverage up to $25,000. This policy doesn’t require health questions or a medical exam, and you are guaranteed coverage as long as you can afford the premiums.
Mutual of Omaha is available nationwide and allows quotes online, making it easy for you to find out how competitive their rates are compared to other life insurance for people with diabetes.
Policy Types Offered:
- Term
- Whole life
- Universal life
- Indexed universal life
Best Cheap Term Life for Diabetics: AIG
pros
Offers flexible terms for short or long term goals
Term policies are convertible and renewable
QoL Flex Term comes with free living benefit riders
cons
Automatic decline if diagnosed with juvenile-onset diabetes
Must complete medical exam with Type 1 diabetes
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
MoneyGeek Score: 77.2
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 737.2
AM Best Rating: A
NAIC Complaint Index: N/A
MoneyGeek's Take: AIG offers the best term life for diabetics, with flexible terms and coverage limits, so you only pay for the coverage you need for as long as you need it.
AIG offers some of the most flexible terms for temporary life insurance coverage of any carrier, with cheap rates compared to competitors. Most life insurers offer term life insurance coverage for 10, 20, or 30 years, without options in between. AIG’s Quality of Life Flex Term (QoL Flex Term) allows you to choose the number of years you need coverage.
You can opt for policies from 10 to 35 years in length and any number in between. So if you want to get a 17-year term life insurance policy to cover the rest of your mortgage loan, AIG’s QoL Flex Term will provide a guaranteed level death benefit for the life of the mortgage.
QoL Flex Term also comes with living benefits riders built-in, so you don’t have to pay extra for these valuable riders.
Coverage begins at $100,000 for all AIG term life insurance policies. If you don’t need extra flexibility, AIG also offers standard term life insurance and renewable term life insurance, which renews annually or every five years until you cancel the policy.
At AIG, Type 1 diabetics are required to complete a medical exam to determine eligibility. People with Type 2 diabetes may qualify for term life insurance without a medical exam, depending on their overall health and family history.
Policy Types Offered:
- Convertible term
- Renewable term
- QoL Flex term
- Term
Best With a Complicated Medical History: Prudential
pros
Rates for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics
File claims and manage your account online
cons
Premiums can be high if you have a complicated medical history
Expect slow turnaround times for complex cases
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
MoneyGeek Score: 82.8
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 756
AM Best Rating: A+
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.15
MoneyGeek's Take: Getting life insurance for diabetics can be hard enough, and a complicated medical history can make it even harder. Prudential offers life insurance for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, even for former smokers.
Prudential's life insurance underwriting methods make it the best life insurance for diabetics with a complicated medical history. For example, if you have high blood pressure or are overweight but are great at controlling your blood sugar, Prudential will use blood sugar credits to offset the higher cost of the other health conditions.
The best part is that Prudential does this for all policy types, face amounts and ages, even for smokers. Depending on the condition and severity of conditions that make up their complex medical history, nonsmokers may even qualify for the plus underwriting class, making rates even more competitive than the standard class.
If you want to bypass the medical exam, Prudential offers term life insurance for people with diabetes with coverage amounts up to $500,000. To qualify, you must fill out a diabetes health questionnaire which the underwriting team will evaluate. You can start a quote online, but having a complicated health history means you will have to speak with Prudential to get a finalized quote. To qualify, you must fill out a diabetes health questionnaire which the underwriting team will evaluate.
Policy Types Offered:
- Term
- Indexed universal life
- Universal life
- Variable universal life
Best for Approval Without Medical Exams: Ethos Life
pros
Completely-online quote and application process
No medical exam required for coverage
Diabetics ages 65–85 automatically qualify for whole life insurance
cons
Not offered in New York
Not all diabetics will qualify
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
MoneyGeek Score: N/A
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): N/A
AM Best Rating: A
NAIC Complaint Index: N/A
MoneyGeek’s Take: Ethos offers term and whole life insurance options that do not require a medical exam, which could mean more affordable coverage for people with diabetes.
Ethos is a tech company that offers term and whole life insurance products through some of the best life insurance companies, including Legal & General America, Principal and TruStage. Its term policies range from $20,000 to $1.5 million in coverage, from 10 to 20 years in length for applicants ages 20–65.
Its simplified underwriting process means most people won’t have to complete a medical exam, although answers to the few health questions asked may result in a requirement for you to complete one to be approved.
Through AAA Life, Ethos provides up to $25,000 in whole life insurance for diabetics between 66 and 85. Coverage is guaranteed, with no health questions or medical exams required.
With guaranteed approval, senior diabetics can get life insurance coverage in just a few minutes using Ethos’ completely-online application process. These policies come with a graded death benefit, which means if you die in the first two policy years, your beneficiary will get the premiums returned plus 30%. However, accidental death is covered 100% from the time the policy is purchased.
Policy Types Offered:
- Term
- Whole life
Best Whole Life for Diabetics: Nationwide
pros
Can pay policy in full in 20 years
Simplified issue coverage up to $50k
People with Type 2 diabetes that is well-controlled may qualify without medical exam
cons
People with Type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes only eligible for simplified-issue
Only current Nationwide insured, their spouse, parents, child, grandchild eligible for simplified-issue
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
MoneyGeek Score: 88.6
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): 785.5
AM Best Rating: A+
NAIC Complaint Index: 0.10
MoneyGeek’s Take: Nationwide offers competitive pricing on whole life insurance for diabetics, with several optional riders to tailor the policy to individual needs.
Nationwide offers two types of whole life insurance for people with diabetes. These are the traditional whole life insurance policy and a simplified issue policy.
The traditional policy comes with two payment options. You can opt for lower-than-average premiums, but the policy requires payments until you reach age 100, or you can pay higher premiums for 20 years with the policy being paid in full until death.
Rates and eligibility are based on age at onset of diabetes, how well-controlled the disease is, and your treatment plan. Healthy Type 2 diabetics may qualify for whole life insurance without a medical exam as long as the coverage amount is $100,000 or less.
While Type 1 diabetics who are insulin-dependent are ineligible for traditional whole life insurance with Nationwide, the insurer has another option available. Nationwide’s simplified issue whole life insurance policy provides up to $50,000 in whole life coverage, with only a few health questions to answer on the application.
This policy has a graded death benefit, which means if you die in the first two years of the policy, your beneficiary will get the premiums returned plus 7% in annual interest instead of the full death benefit. To qualify for simplified-issue whole life with Nationwide, you must be a Nationwide insured or the spouse, child, or grandchild of a Nationwide insured.
Policy Types Offered:
- Whole life 100
- 20-Pay whole life
- Simplified issue whole life
Company Comparison Summary for People With Diabetes
Whether you live with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, you have options when buying life insurance. The table below shows each company’s financial strength, customer service score, policies offered and age limits and can help you decide which option is best for you.
- Company & RankingAM Best RatingJ.D. Power ScoreAgesPolicies OfferedType 1 & 2 Covered?
John Hancock
Best Overall for
Type 2 DiabeticsA+
730.2
Up to 90
- Term
- Universal life
- Indexed universal life
- Variable universal life
Yes
Mutual of Omaha
Best Overall for
Type 1 DiabeticsA+
783.4
Up to 85
- Term
- Universal life
- Whole life
Yes
AIG
Best Cheap Term
Life for DiabeticsA
737.2
Up to 70
- Convertible term
- Renewable term
- QoL Flex term
- Term
Yes
Prudential
Best With a Complicated
Medical HistoryA+
756
Up to 90
- Term
- Indexed universal life
- Universal life
- Variable universal life
Yes
Ethos
Best for No Medical
ExamsA
N/A
Up to 85
- Term
- Whole life
Yes
Compare Life Insurance Rates
Ensure you’re getting the best rate for your life insurance. Compare quotes from top providers to find the most affordable life insurance coverage for your needs.
What Factors Do Insurers Look at When You Have Diabetes?
When shopping for the best life insurance for diabetics, it’s essential to understand what factors insurers look at when deciding your eligibility. Be prepared to provide the following information when you apply for life insurance for people with diabetes:
Age of Onset
This is the age you were when you were diagnosed with diabetes. Typically, the older you were diagnosed, the better your life insurance rate will be.
Type of Diabetes
Most diabetes cases in America are Type 2, and insurers typically offer better rates than those offered to Type 1 diabetics. This is mainly because Type 2 is more easily controlled through diet and lifestyle choices, whereas Type 1 is insulin-dependent. Most carriers will not approve someone with gestational diabetes unless they apply for guaranteed-issue life insurance.
Treatment Plans
While treatment plans vary, how well you’re managing your diabetes is an important factor for a life insurance provider. If your diabetes and blood sugar are well-controlled through medication, regular doctor’s visits and a healthy lifestyle and diet, you stand a better chance of getting the best life insurance rates for diabetics.
Family History
The health history of your parents and siblings can also affect your life insurance eligibility and rate. If members of your immediate family died before they were 60, had diabetes themselves or have complex health histories, a life insurance company could view you as too risky to insure, especially if there are genetic conditions at play.
Your Health
When people with diabetes apply for life insurance, the rest of their health makes a big difference. If you have high blood pressure or are overweight, your rates could skyrocket or even make you ineligible for coverage. Alcohol use is another determining factor since excessive consumption can lead to diabetes-related complications such as retinopathy, a diabetic eye disease.
Life Insurance Cost for Diabetics
The cost of life insurance for people with diabetes varies by company, coverage amount, age and overall health. To get an idea of how much you might pay for life insurance for people with diabetes, MoneyGeek gathered several term life insurance for diabetics quotes to provide a range of expected premiums.
Avg. Cost of $250,000 Coverage for Male, Nonsmoking, Type 2 Diabetics
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- Term Length30-Year-Old40-Year-Old50-Year-Old60-Year-Old
- 1.10-Year Term$15–$30$25–$45$40–$70$80–$150
- 2.20-Year Term$20–$45$32–$55$60–$100$150–$300
Avg. Cost of $500,000 Coverage for Male, Nonsmoking, Type 2 Diabetics
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- Term Length30-Year-Old40-Year-Old50-Year-Old60-Year-Old
- 1.10-Year Term$18–$40$27–$55$60–$100$150–$350
- 2.20-Year Term$25–$55$4–$70$100–$200$300–$600
Compare Life Insurance Rates
Ensure you’re getting the best rate for your life insurance. Compare quotes from top providers to find the most affordable life insurance coverage for your needs.
How Can Diabetics Lower Their Policy Cost?
People with diabetes have a few opportunities to lower their life insurance policy premiums.
For example, quitting could lower your rates if you're a smoker. However, keep in mind that you won’t be eligible for nonsmoker rates until you’ve been tobacco-free for at least 12 months.
You can also use health technology, like a wearable device that tracks and encourages healthy lifestyle habits, to bring down your life insurance expenses. Some companies, like John Hancock, even offer discounts on life insurance if you improve your health and allow them to monitor your activities.
Having a good management and treatment plan is also essential in staying in control of your diabetes and reducing future complications. Anything you can do to reduce your mortality risk is good in the eyes of a life insurance company, and you will often be rewarded with lower policy costs.
What Riders Should You Explore?
The riders offered on life insurance policies vary by company and policy type. You should explore all rider options but pay particular attention to living benefits.
These benefits, also called accelerated benefit riders, allow you to withdraw money from the death benefit while you’re still alive. If you are diagnosed with a chronic, critical or terminal illness, you can access the death benefit and use the money in any way you choose.
A guaranteed-insurability rider is another option to consider. This rider lets you buy more life insurance at specific ages or life events, like getting married or having a baby. Your health isn’t a factor, so you can increase your insurance even if your health has worsened since you took out the life insurance policy.
The waiver of premium for disability is another valuable rider. With this rider, your life insurance policy premiums are paid once you meet the qualifying criteria, usually a waiting period. If you become disabled, this rider can prevent you from lapsing your life insurance if you can’t afford the premiums.
FAQs About Life Insurance Policies for People With Diabetes
People with diabetes can find it more challenging to get approval for life insurance at an affordable rate. Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about life insurance for people with diabetes.
Methodology
We go the extra mile so that you can feel confident about life insurance content from MoneyGeek. Our best life insurance ranking for people with diabetes incorporates a significant number of data points from insurance industry research companies, such as J.D. Power and Associates, and our unique proprietary research, including real policy quotes for people who have diabetes and a complicated medical history. To learn more, visit our complete methodology page.
About the Author
sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "National Diabetes Statistics Report 2020." Accessed November 28, 2021.