Best Life Insurance for Diabetics

If you live with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, you may wonder if you’ll have to pay a lot extra for life insurance or even if you can get coverage at all. But people whose diabetes is well managed and are otherwise in great shape could qualify for a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:health risk class indicating rates that are as good as or better than the rates for many people without diabetes. That said, some insurers are more accepting of diabetics than others.&nbs🥃p;

Investopedia research found that the best provider of life insurance for diabetics is , based on its best-case risk classജ for people with diabetes, as well as its excellent living benefits and funeral insurance. and also have great offerings for people living with diabetes. In choosing the companies for this list, we looked at risk class information for diabetics, diabetes management programs, funeral insurance offerings, available riders, and overall company health.

Best Life Insurance for Diabetics

Best Overall: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: Nationwide
Best for Diabetes Management Program: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: John Hancock
Best for Financial Stability, Best for Customer Satisfaction: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网: State Farm

with our partner Covr Financial from multiple providers before buy𝓰ing.

Best Overall : Nationwide

Investopedia's Rating

4.8

Financial Strength Rating: A+
Complaints: Much better than expected for company size

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Why We Chose It

Nationwide’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:underwriting guidelines state that people with diabetes may be considered for its Standard Plus class, which could mean lower rates. Nationwide also has ♛an impressive final expense policy and three living benefits included with many policies at no extra cost. All of this is from a company that’s very strong financially and has a great customer 🌠complaint record.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Diabetics may qualify for St🌺andard Plus underwritin🎃g class
Great final expense coverage
Three living benefits included at no extra cost
Superior financial strength rating
Very feဣw customer complaints to state regulators, relative to company size

Cons

No diabetes management program

Overview

Nationwide is among a handful of companies Investopedia researched that not only accepts applicants who have diabetes but also will consider them for its Standard Plus risk class. Insurance companies use 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:risk classes to calculate how much risk they’re exposing themselves to when🐎 signing someone up, and therefore, what rate to charge that pe♏rson.

Standard risk class indicates typical risk and average life expectancy for most insurers. Standard Plus generally indicates above-average health and, therefore, lower premiums than Standard. But it all depends on other health factors, your medical⛎ history, and your family’s history. For someone with diabetes to qualify for Standard Plus, the condition ✃must be well-managed, and the person must be in excellent health.

A few peop🍸le with diabetes may even qualify for Nationwide’s Nontobaccౠo Preferred risk class for further rate discounts, but you’ll need to be over 65, have Type 2 diabetes, and not be dependent on insulin.

If you don’t qualify at all for a fully underwritten policy or simply don’t want to have your medical history reviewed you may be interested in a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:final expense policy (also known as burial insurance or funeral insurance). Final expense insurance is 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:guaranteed issue and doesn’t require you to provide medica🦩l information.

Nationwide’s final expense policy🍌 is o꧙ne of the best. You can get up to $50,000 in coverage, which is more than many companies allow, and you can buy it at any age up to 80.

Nationwide also tops this list for many of the reasons we named it the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best o🍎verall life insurance company. It offers a wide variety of policies, many that come with three living benefits at no extra cost. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Living benefits, aka accelerated benefits, let you use a portion of your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:death benefit while you’re alive if you develop a serious🌸 iဣllness.

Nationwide is one of the few companies that offer a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:long-term care rider, though you’ll need to pay extra for that. Other riders available for purchase include a child term rider, waiver of premium rider, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:accidental death benefit rider. The child term rider adds coverage for your children to your own policy until they reach age 22, and it can be transferred to the chil🍌dren at adulthood and converted to a permanent policy if desired. ꧟

Nationwide has an A+ financial grade from credit rating agency AM Best, which is the second-highest grade possible and indicates a “superior” chance that the company will be able to pay its financial obligations decades from now.

Nationwide customers file far fewer cꦅom🍸plaints with state regulators than expected for a company its size. This is a sign of high customer satisfaction.

The only downside we saw specific to coverage for diabetics is that unlike John Hancock and State Farm, Nationwide doesn’t have a program to help policyholders manage their diabetꦅes.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide has been arꦰound since 1926.

Best for Diabetes Management Program : John Hancock

Investopedia's Rating

3.5

Financial Strength Rating: A+
Complaints: Much better than expected for company size

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Why We Chose It

John Hancock stands out for its comprehensive diabetes manageme🍃nt program, which includes discounts on healthy food, virtual consultations with diabetes experts, and the opportunity to earn premium discounts through fitness activities. In addition, people with diabetes may be considered for the Standard Plus risk class.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Offers comprehensive diabetes management program
Diabetics m⛦ay qualify for Standard Plus risk class
Three living benefits ava♛ilable, two at no extra cost
Superior financial strength rating
Very few customer co𒊎mplaint🎐s to state regulators, relative to company size

Cons

No final expense insurance available

Overview

John Hancock goes the extra mile to make people living with diabetes feel welcome. Its Asp🌊ire program is designed specifically for people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

When you are ready to apply for a policy, an Aspire representative will walk through the application with you. If you become a member, you can access discounted or free fitness devices, discounts on food and fitness items, and, th🌺rough the Vitality PLUS program (which requires a small fee), a way♔ to earn up to 25% lower premiums over time by completing activities like walking, buying fresh vegetables, or getting preventive checkups.

If you have Type 2 diabetes, you may qualify for Onduo, an app that offers free blood testing equipment and supplies, personal health coaching, and consultatio🃏ns with diabetes experts.

John Hancock underwriting guidelines also allow for assigning a Standard Plus risk class for someone with T🍃y🍨pe 2 diabetes who is 50 or older, has no complications, and doesn’t need insulin. If you meet all of those qualifications and are 60 or older, you may even be considered for Preferred class, which should have even more discounted premiums for your age.

A chronic illness or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:terminal illness rider may be included free of charge on policies. Other riders available for purchase include critical illness, l🍷ong-term care, waiver of premium, and disability income riders.

John Hancock has an A+ financial strength rating from AM Best, so you can feel confident it will be around and able to pay a claim when the time comes. And its three-year customer complaint record is excellent—only one-thousandth of a point worse than State Farm’s.

The only downside is tꦅhat there is no final expense insurance. So, if you’re denied a fully underwritten policy and want guaranteed issue coverage that won’t require a medical history check, you’ll ne🐻ed to go elsewhere.

John Hancock was founded in 1🅷862 and is headquartered in Boston. It is owned by Manulife Financial Corpor🎐ation, which was founded in 1887.

Best for Financial Stability, Best for Customer Satisfaction : State Farm

Investopedia's Rating

3.3

Financial Strength Rating: A++
Complaints: Much better than expected for company size

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Why We Chose It

Investopedia found t♊hat State Farm has the best possible financial strength rating and the most attractive customer satisfaction record among life insurance companies that cover people with diabetes.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Highest financial strength rating available
Outstanding customer satisfaction record
Health management program available

Cons

Limited living benefits offered
Low coverage limit for funeral insurance

Overview

If trustworthiness is a high priority for you when choosing a life insurance company, State Farm may be the right fit. It’s on rock-solid financial footing, earning the highest possible mark (A++ ) from AM Best, meaning you can trust that it will be able to pay claims in the future. That stability also landed State Farm on our list of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best term life insurance companies.

State Farm has a stellar customer satisfaction record. According to Investopedia research, its complaint rate is the lowest among the companies that cover diabetics. It has received far fewer customer complaints to state regulators than expected for its size. And it has won the top spot on 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:J.D. Power customer satisfaction surveys for five consecutive years, including 2024.

While the company doesn’t have a robust program for diabetics like John Hancock’s, it does have a general health management program. The Life Enhanced app lets you earn points for setting and making progress toward fitness goals. You can use the poi🌃nts to buy gift cards for retailers such as Amazon, Target, Whole Foods, and Walmart.

The best possible health risk class State Farm would offer someone with diabetes is Standard. While that isn’t bad, it’s less impressive than the other two companies on this list, which offer Standard Plus in some cases. If your diabetes is 𝄹under control and you’re otherwise in exceptional health, you might qualify for better pricing at Nationwide or John Hancock.

State Farm🐠’s living benefits are limited to chronic illness and long-term care riders you’ll need to pay for. But it does offer a child term rider,🐟 an add-on for some policies that provides temporary coverage for children. The term life insurance can be converted to a permanent policy when the child turns 25.

If you’re looking for funeral insurance, you could do better. State Farm limits th♈ose policies to $15,000 in coverage; you’ll need to be between 45 and 80 years old to buy one.

State Farm is based in Bloomington, Illinois, aܫnd has been in business since 1929.

Why Trust Us

Every Investopedia review of financial product providers starts w🌞ith a rigorous research process and objective data analysis by Investopedia staff. We created this list of the best life insurance companies for diabetics after collecting 71 data points related to criteria from 32 companies that cover diabetics and meet our minimum standards for inclusion. The criteria helped us evaluate each company’s underwriting for diabetics, coverage options, diabetes management programs, financial stability, and other features to help you choose🌠 the best provider for you.

Investopedia has been a trustworthy source of financial infoꦬ༺rmation since 1999 and has been reviewing life insurance companies since 2020.

How Does Life Insurance for Diabetics Work?

Having diabetes doesn’t mean you can’t buy life insurance. Yet the type of life insurance you can qualify for, the coverage amount, and the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:premiums you pay are typically 𒊎determined by factors like your health status, your age, 🌌and whether you have any other pre-existing conditions.

By insuring individuals with diabetes, companies face a greater risk of paying out a death benefit, as people with the disease may have shortened life expectancies. Therefore, insurance companies may charge higher premiums to people with diabetes because of this additional risk.

Types of Diabetes and Risk Classes

Whether you q🐷ualify for life insurance and at what cost depends on the type of diabetes you have and your overall risk level as an applicant.

Type 1: People with type 1 diabetes may be considered higher risk, as people with type 1 diabetes do 🌌not produce (or produce very little) insulin and must take insulin regularly to treat their condition. Diet and exercise alone are not enough to treat the condition, creat🌌ing an ongoing risk for insurers and leading to more expensive rates for people with Type 1 diabetes.

Type 2: In contrast, people with type 2 diabetes may be able to treat their condition without medication—they may be able to manage it with lifestyle changes like exercise and diet. Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes, and if an individual manages their type 2 diabetes well, they could qualify for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:lower premiums, as insurance companies may perceive these indivi♕dual🅰s as lower risk.

Gestational diabetes: Some women may get gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy. This type of diabetes is typically temporary, lasting only during pregnancy. If you currently have gestational diabetes and want to qualify for better premiums, you may consider waiting until after you’ve given birth to apply for insurance.

Risk classes: Generally, insurance providers will group individuals into different 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:risk classes. While people with diabetes may not be in the lowest risk classes—like pref🅘erred plus or preferred—they aren’t necessarily always placed in the highest risk categories either.

For example, those who don’t depend on insulin, are young, and are non-smokers could be placed in the standard plus or preferred categories, depending on the insurance provider. Being in these risk classes could mea🐬n being eligible for more affordable premiums.

Application Process for Diabetics

During the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:application process, insurance companies ask applicants to fill out a questionnaire and complete a medical exam to get a picture of your health. The insurer may require information about when you were diagnosed 𓂃and how you manage your condition. During a medicaไl exam, height, weight, blood pressure, and other vitals are measured. Blood and urine samples are taken, too.

However, if you’re not the healthiest or don’t want to go through the effort of completing a medical exam, there are still life insurance policies you can qualify for. There are 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结🥀果体彩网:no-medical -exam insurance policies that have less extensive underwriting processes, so you generally wo🐼n’t have to complete a medical exam.🐼

Yet these policies are ty🦄pically more expensive and offer less coverage than fully underwritten po🍌licies because insurance providers have less information and insight into your health status.

Types of Life Insurance For Diabetics

Term Life Insurance

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Term life insurance is a type of life insurance that offers coverage for a fixed period of time, typically between 10 and 30 years. If a policyholder dies while they have coverage, a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:death benefit will be paid out to their beneficiaries, who are the people they’ꦅve designated to receive ♒money.

However, if a person outlives their term life policy, their beneficiaries will not receive a death benefit. Term life insurance is typically much more affordable than permanent life insurance, but since it offers temporary coverage, most policyholders end up oꦚutliving their policies.

Permanent Life Insurance

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Permanent life insurance provides lifelong coverage and includes cash value, a cash savings component that policyholders can withdraw and borrow from while alive. With permanent life insurance, a policyholder’s beneficiaries🐟 are guaranteed to receive the death benefit as long as the policyholder has kept up with their premiums. Because of this, permanent life insurance tends to be much more expensive than term life insurance.

There are many different kinds ꩵof permanent life insurance, but some cꦓommon types include whole life insurance and universal life insurance.

With 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:whole life insurance, premiums are generally fixed and cash value earns a steady rate. In contrast, with 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:universal life, policyholders can pay variable premiums, adjust their death benefit,൲ and earn 😼a variable interest rate on cash value.

No-Medical-Exam Life Insurance

There are life insurance policies that diabetics can qualify for—like 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:guaranteed issue, simplified issue, or accelerated issue life insurance—that don’t require applicants to go through the full underwriting process. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:No-medical-exam insurance may be easier to qualify for, but some are📖 more expensive and may offer less coverage.

Generally, these policies won’t offer more than $500,000 worth of coverage for a term life insurance policy and $50,000 for a whole life policy for someone with diabetes.

Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance

If you want guaranteed coverage and don🐷’t think you’ll qualify for the other types of insurance as a diabetic, you might consider opting for guaranteed issue life insurance.

With guaranteed issue life insurance, there’s no medical exam or questionnaire, and you can’t be denied coverage because of a health issue. In exchange, these policies are the most expensive type of coverage, even compared to other no-medical exam options. Guaranteed issue life insurance policies usually offer smaller death benefits too, typically between $2,000 and $25,000 maximum.

And guaranteed issue♔ life insurance has a graded death benefit, which means that there’s a waiting period of two to three years. If a policyholder dies during that period, their beneficiaries won’t receive the death benefit. Instead, the insurance company will pay the beneficiaries back the premiums along with interest. But if a policyholder dies after the waiting period is over, their beneficiaries will receive the full death benefit.

Guaranteed issue life insurance is typically only available as a whole life policy. You may also hear these policies described as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:final expense insurance, wh𝓡ich is a version of guaranteed issue life specifically designed to help people cover funerals or burials. However, your beꦗneficiaries can use the money any way they want.

Simplified Issue Life Insurance

Simplified issue life insurance requires applicants to fill out a questionnaire regarding their health and lifestyle. These plans don’t guarantee approval, and some applicants who are considered high-risk or who have preexisting conditions may be denied, so it may be a better option for diabetics who are otherwise very healthy. You can find simplified issue term and permanent🐻 life insurance policies.

As a diabetic, you may qualify for simplified issue life insurance if the condition is being managed well and you are otherwise in excellent health. The application process is quick and usually handled online or over the phone. If you fail to qualify, the insurer could ask you to try again for a policy that requires a medical exam for 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:underwriting.

Accelerated Issue Life Insurance

Accelerated issue life insurance typically offers the greatest amount of possible coverage of all the no-medical exam policy options. That’s because the insurer still closely examines your risk as an applicant, even if you don’t take a medical exam.

With this type of insurance, applicants may be required to fill out a questionnaire, but the insurance company also evaluates data like driving records and prescription history. This underwriting process relies on data analytics, but some individuals 🃏may still need to complete a medical exam if the insurer doesn’t have enough information.

There are both term and permanent life insurance policies that use accelerated issue underwriting. Be warned: As a diabetic, it can be very difficult to qualify for accelerated underwriting. Your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:insurance agent will let you know if it’s a possibility when you apply.

How We Chose the Best Life Insurance for Diaꦺbetics

In creating this list of the best providers of life insurance for people living with diabetes, Investopedia editors and researchers first considered which companies e🐈ven to consider. We surveyed hundreds of recent life insurance buyers to determine what was important to them. We also consulted market share intelligence and other indicators of company relevance, ruling out providers that didn’t meet Investopedia standards for online transparency, financial strength, and customer complaint ratings. Tha🗹t gave us a list of 45 companies. Among those, 32 indicated they offer life insurance to people with diabetes.

Investopedia researchers collected dozens of data points related to 71 criteria between May 20 and July 3, 2024, and Jan. 14 and Jan. 21, 2025. We unearthed the data from company websites, media representatives, rating agencies, (AM Best, the National Assoಌciation o🌳f Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:J.D. Power), and customer service calls.

Staff editors and research analysts then created a quantitative model thꦿat scored each company based on five major categories. We weighted the categories as follows:

Coverage: 42%
Policy Features and Riders: 16%
Diabetes Best-Case Underwriting: 15%
Diabetes Management Tools: 11%
Customer Satisfaction: 10%
Financial Stability: 6%

For more information, read our full 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:methodology explanation.