Best Life Insurance for Diabetics in 2024

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Updated: November 20, 2024

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With 12% of Americans living with diabetes, finding the right life insurance for diabetics can be challenging, but it's not impossible. Life insurance companies assess various factors, such as the severity of your condition, type of diabetes and your treatment plan to determine if you qualify for coverage.

To help you find the best life insurance policy for diabetics, MoneyGeek has analyzed thousands of life insurance quotes for people with diabetes and other health complications. John Hancock offers the best life insurance for Type 2 diabetics, while Mutual of Omaha has the best life insurance for Type 1 diabetics.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Why Trust MoneyGeek? We go the extra mile so that you can feel confident about life insurance content from MoneyGeek. Our methodology incorporates many data points from insurance industry research companies and our research to ensure accurate rankings.

Life Insurance for Diabetics: What to Look For

If you are considering purchasing life insurance for people with diabetes, there are several important factors to consider. Diabetes is a chronic condition that can increase the risk of several health complications such as heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. It is important to find a life insurance company that understands the unique health risks associated with diabetes and offers coverage that meets your needs.

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    Underwriting Guidelines

    Each insurance company has its own underwriting guidelines, which determine how they assess the risk of insuring individuals with diabetes. Look for a company that has experience providing life insurance for people with diabetes and offers flexible underwriting guidelines that take into account your overall health, age and other risk factors.

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    Policy Type

    There are two main types of life insurance policies: term life insurance and permanent life insurance. Term life insurance provides coverage for a set period of time, typically 10-30 years; it is generally less expensive than permanent life insurance. Permanent life insurance, provides coverage for your entire life and includes a savings component that allows you to accumulate cash value over time.

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    Financial Strength and Reputation

    Look for a company with a strong financial rating and a history of paying claims on time. You can check the financial strength of a life insurance company by reviewing its ratings from independent rating agencies such as AM Best, Moody's and Standard & Poor's.

By taking the time to research and compare different life insurance companies, you can find the best coverage to protect your family and loved ones.

Best Life Insurance for Type 2 Diabetics: John Hancock

John Hancock

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Program is specific to diabetics

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Life insurance discounts for making healthy choices

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Diabetic resources, tools and education, which includes virtual consults with experts through its Aspire program.

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Not available in Idaho, New York or Puerto Rico

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Aspire is not currently available on Simple Term with Vitality or final expense whole life products

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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 premiums 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 a 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 Life Insurance for Type 1 Diabetics: Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha

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Online quotes available

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Fully underwritten and guaranteed-issue policies available

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Competitive underwriting and rates

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Favorable customer satisfaction and financial strength ratings

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Slow approval process

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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

AIG

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Offers flexible terms for short- or long-term goals

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Term policies are convertible and renewable

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QoL Flex Term comes with free living benefit riders

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Automatic decline if diagnosed with juvenile-onset diabetes (Type 1 diabetes)

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Must complete medical exam with the onset of Type 1 diabetes in later life

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 term 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

Prudential

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Rates for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics

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File claims and manage your account online

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Premiums can be high if you have a complicated medical history

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Expect slow policy approval 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 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 no-exam 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 a Prudential representative to get a finalized quote.

Policy Types Offered:

  • Term
  • Indexed universal life
  • Universal life
  • Variable universal life

Best for Approval Without Medical Exams: Ethos Life

Ethos LIfe

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Completely-online quote and application process

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No medical exam required for coverage

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Diabetics aged 65–85 automatically qualify for whole life insurance

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Not offered in New York

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Not all diabetics will qualify

COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS

MoneyGeek Score: N/A
J.D. Power (out of 1,000): N/A
AM Best Rating: N/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, a tech company, is a licensed producer and third-party administrator of life insurance, working with some of the industry's top life insurance carriers to sell reliable policies, including Legal & General America, AAA Life, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., TruStage Financial Group, Inc., Senior Life Insurance Company and Mutual of Omaha. Ethos uses artificial intelligence to quickly underwrite and initiate coverage without medical exams. The available 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 Insurance for Diabetics: Nationwide

Nationwide

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Can pay policy in full in 20 years

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Simplified issue coverage up to $50k

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People with Type 2 diabetes that is well-controlled may qualify without a medical exam

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People with Type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes are only eligible for simplified-issue

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Only current Nationwide policyholders, their spouse, parents, child, or grandchild are 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 is 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 current Nationwide policyholder or the spouse, child, or grandchild of a Nationwide policyholder.

Policy Types Offered:

  • Whole life 100
  • 20-Pay whole life
  • Simplified issue whole life

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 with diabetes, MoneyGeek gathered several term life insurance for diabetics quotes to provide a range of expected premiums.

The cost information below is a monthly estimate generated for a nonsmoking male with Type 2 Diabetics with a $500,000 policy.

Term Length
30-Year-Old
40-Year-Old
50-Year-Old
60-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

The cost information below is a monthly estimate generated for a nonsmoking male with Type 2 Diabetics

Term Length
30-Year-Old
40-Year-Old
50-Year-Old
60-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

What Factors Affect Cost Most?

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:

  1. 1
    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.

  2. 2
    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.

  3. 3
    Treatment Plans

    While treatment plans vary, how well you’re managing your diabetes is an important factor for a life insurance provider. Suppose your diabetes and blood sugar is well-controlled through medication, regular doctor's visits and a healthy lifestyle and diet. In that case, you stand a better chance of getting the best life insurance rates for diabetics.

  4. 4
    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 reached age 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.

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    Your Health

    When applying for life insurance when you have diabetes, other health and lifestyle factors make a big difference in the cost and availability of coverage. 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 underwriting factor since excessive consumption can lead to diabetes-related complications such as retinopathy, a diabetic eye disease.

How Can Diabetics Lower Their Policy Cost?

If you have diabetes, there are a few ways to lower the cost of your life insurance policy:

  1. If you're a smoker, quitting can decrease your rates, but you must remain tobacco-free for at least 12 months to qualify for nonsmoker rates.

  2. You can utilize health monitoring technology, such as wearable devices that monitor and encourage healthy habits, to lower your life insurance expenses. Some insurance companies even provide discounts on life insurance if you improve your health and allow them to track your activities.

  3. Maintaining a good management and treatment plan is crucial to controlling your diabetes and reducing future complications. By reducing your mortality risk, you can qualify for lower policy costs from insurance providers.

What Riders Should You Explore?

When weighing the options for life insurance for diabetics, understanding the available life insurance riders can enhance your policy's value. These riders, which vary by life insurance company and policy type, offer tailored benefits that cater to specific needs.

Generally, 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 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.

FAQ: Life Insurance for Diabetics

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.

Can you get life insurance if you have diabetes?
Can people with Type 2 diabetes buy a life insurance policy?
Can people with Type 1 diabetes buy a life insurance policy?
How much do life insurance policies cost for people with diabetes?
What is the easiest policy type to get if you have diabetes?
What should you do if you're denied life insurance because of diabetes?

About Mark Fitzpatrick

Mark Fitzpatrick headshot

Mark Fitzpatrick is a Licensed Property and Casualty Insurance Producer and MoneyGeek's Head of Insurance. He has analyzed the insurance market for over five years, conducting original research and creating personalized content for every kind of buyer. He has been quoted in several insurance-related publications, including CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.

Fitzpatrick earned a master’s degree in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He is passionate about using his knowledge of economics and insurance to bring transparency around financial topics and help others feel confident in their money moves.

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