If you're like many Americans, you may have put off the purchase of life insurance for one of any number of reasons -- perceived cost, hassle, or even just the desire to avoid facing your own mortality. In fact, only about 6 of every 10 adults carry life insurance coverage, despite nearly unanimous agreement that such coverage is important.
Being diagnosed with a serious and lifelong illness like diabetes could be the impetus you need to begin investigating your life insurance options. However, you may find that the number of companies willing to offer you coverage shrinks drastically once you've been diagnosed with a chronic ailment. Read on to learn more about obtaining life insurance after you've been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
Can you get life insurance if you have diabetes?
Because diabetes has the potential to decrease your life expectancy, providing life insurance to individuals with diabetes poses an increased level of risk to insurance companies. Some companies choose to manage this risk by declining to offer coverage to individuals with certain illnesses or ailments (including diabetes), while others may offer coverage at significantly inflated rates.
However, all companies utilize different formulas and risk assessment factors when determining premium costs. If you're running into trouble finding an insurance company that will offer you coverage at a price you can afford, you may want to contact an insurance agent or broker who can help sort through all the available policies and find the best option for you.
What should you do to keep your insurance costs down after a diabetes diagnosis?
Even if you've already been diagnosed with diabetes before and you've sought out term life insurance, there are some steps you can take to lower your monthly premium.
If your diabetes is well-managed with medication or lifestyle changes, you may want to investigate policies that require a regular medical exam. By showing your insurance company that you're in good health and committed to remaining healthy and keeping your diabetes in check, you should be able to receive rates more comparable to those offered to individuals without diabetes.
In other cases, you may want to split the difference and self-insure for a portion of your needs. For example, if you've calculated that it will take a $1 million term policy to replace your income and provide for your family, you may want to take out a $500,000 term policy and self-insure for the additional $500,000 by front-loading retirement accounts or making other investments that could be utilized after your death. You'll be able to pay a much lower premium for your insurance while keeping some of your money within your own control.
Share17 May 2016
When I got married, I knew that there were a few things that I needed to learn about the way the world worked. For starters, I had to figure out how insurance worked since I wanted to make the most of my life without worrying about money. I started focusing on the policies that I had in place and gradually moved towards acquiring new life insurance and the like. Having each of these coverages helped give both me and my spouse peace of mind. We both knew if something happened to me that the other would be okay. Check out this blog to learn more about insurance needs.