Life insurance with Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is the hardest file to place in the diabetic life insurance world. It is not impossible. It is slower, pickier, and the wrong carrier choice is the difference between an approval at a reasonable rate and a flat decline.

What carriers look at

• Age at diagnosis and total years on insulin
• Your most recent A1C (lower is better; most Type 1 fully-underwritten thresholds sit around 7.5 to 8.5)
• Whether you have had diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), neuropathy, retinopathy or kidney involvement
• Current medications, pump use, continuous glucose monitor (CGM) use
• Overall health: blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI, tobacco use

Which policy types usually fit Type 1 applicants

Fully-underwritten term or whole life. The best rates come from here when control is solid. A small number of carriers write Type 1 competitively; the rest decline or heavily rate-up. Shopping matters.

Simplified-issue life insurance. A short tele-interview and a records check instead of a medical exam. Not every Type 1 case fits, but it widens the field when fully-underwritten declines or quotes come back too high.

Guaranteed-issue life insurance. No health questions. Lower face amounts, typically $25,000 to $50,000, with a two or three year waiting period before full death benefit. For many older Type 1 applicants, this is the policy that gets issued when the others say no.

Final expense (burial) insurance. $15,000 to $100,000, simplified or guaranteed-issue, designed to cover funeral costs and small debts. Approvals are usually fast.

Long-term care. Traditional LTC rarely approves Type 1 applicants. Hybrid life/LTC and asset-based policies sometimes do, especially for well-managed cases.

What a Type 1 application actually looks like

A conversation first, not a form. You tell us your A1C, your meds, your history. We pick a short list of carriers that write Type 1 well. We quote you honestly. If a decline is the likely outcome, we tell you before you apply.

That is how most Type 1 clients find coverage. They stop filling out generic quote forms, get on a call with somebody who knows the carrier map, and apply once at the right company.