Final expense insurance with diabetes

What final expense applications ask about diabetes

Final expense insurers care less about the diagnosis than about how far diabetes has progressed. The questions target age at diagnosis, complications, hospital stays, insulin reactions and amputations.

Diabetes is widespread. The CDC estimates 40.1 million Americans had diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes in 2023, about 12% of the population. Carriers therefore build their questions to separate well-controlled cases from advanced ones.

Insurers also verify your answers. Mutual of Omaha runs a prescription drug check, so your diabetes medicines will appear on that report. Height and weight are asked too, on both the Foresters and Royal Neighbors applications.

Does insulin use matter?

Insulin by itself is not a question on the Mutual of Omaha or Foresters forms we reviewed. If you use insulin without complications, you may still qualify for a level plan, subject to the carrier’s record checks.

Royal Neighbors of America is different. It asks whether you've had diabetes with insulin use in the last 10 years. A yes there means you won't fit its all-no path, though the form says a yes doesn't rule out every offer.

Severe insulin reactions are treated more strictly. Mutual of Omaha excludes anyone who has ever had insulin shock or a diabetic coma from Living Promise.

Tell your agent about any severe low blood sugar episode before you apply. That helps you choose a carrier whose questions fit your history.

Complications: neuropathy, eyes, kidneys and amputation

Complications are the main reason people with diabetes land in a graded plan. Mutual of Omaha's graded plan applies if you've ever had diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease or a stroke.

Foresters PlanRight uses a shorter list: retinopathy, nephropathy or peripheral neuropathy. Any of these places you in its Basic tier, which has a graded death benefit. So does a hospital stay of 48 hours or more for diabetes in the past 2 years.

An amputation caused by diabetes is a knockout at both carriers. In that case, a guaranteed issue plan is usually the remaining option. Our waiting periods guide explains the two-year graded period these plans carry.

Age at diagnosis and kidney health

When you were diagnosed can matter at some carriers. Mutual of Omaha places diabetes diagnosed before age 45 in its graded plan, even without complications.

Kidney damage deserves close attention. The CDC lists diabetes and high blood pressure as the leading causes of kidney failure. Dialysis or end-stage renal disease rules out Living Promise entirely; see our page on final expense with kidney disease.

Foresters does not ask about age at diagnosis on the form we reviewed. That difference is one reason comparing carriers matters for people diagnosed young.

Diabetes combined with heart or stroke history

Diabetes plus another condition can change your outcome even when each alone would not. Mutual of Omaha counts coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease and stroke as diabetic complications.

So someone with diabetes and an old stroke may be offered a graded plan there. A stroke over 2 years ago is not asked on its own. See final expense after a stroke.

Foresters treats heart attacks and strokes on their own timelines instead. On its form, one more than 2 years ago is not asked, with or without diabetes.

What to have ready

Know your age at diagnosis, your current medicines and doses, and any complications a doctor has named. Also note any hospital stays for diabetes in the past 2 years.

Have your height and weight handy, because Foresters and Royal Neighbors ask for them. If you are in your sixties, our guide to final expense over 60 covers age-specific options.

How to apply with diabetes

Answer each question truthfully and exactly as worded. Policies are usually contestable for their first two years. In New York, for example, the law lets an insurer contest a claim in that window if it proves a material misrepresentation.

Compare carriers before settling for graded or guaranteed issue. Insulin users may qualify for a level plan at one carrier and not another. You can compare quotes or see costs by age.

Rates rise each year you wait. See our guides for people over 65 and over 75. Availability varies by state and carrier.