Ok, so my husband and I met with the Life Insurance guy from The Hartford on Saturday. The agent spoke with my husband (someone easy to insure, translation “healthy”) and said that he MIGHT be able to get me insured (up to this point IMPOSSIBLE). I have one insurance policy that my parents took out on me back in 1991 (still don’t know how they did it)…ANYWAY, the “medical exam” is this Saturday and MY QUESTION IS: Has anyone out there been able to get LIFE INSURANCE (not health insurance, a whole other issue) and if so, with WHICH COMPANY? And has it cost you an arm and a leg to pay for? All feedback is appreciated. Thank you in advance!
life insurance yes - as for how much we pay I don’t remember my parents took it out on me when I was a young child. I will call her and ask
Jody: I do not envy you. “Might” is definitely the right word. About 4 years ago I obtained a policy from John Hancock, through a broker who sent them what he described as “a huge amount” of business, so he said he was able to lean on them to get something for me. This came after almost two years of looking. I had been type 1 for 20+ years with an irregular heart beat and a1c’s generally in the 7s when I applied for the insurance.
My policy is a universal life policy, so it will expire at a specified point in time, assuming I pay all the premiums. The cost is expensive. Every $1 of premium gets me $70 of coverage, so $100,000 would cost over $1,400 per year. By comparison, my ex-wife (who is generally healthy), had a policy where the premium was 1/16th of mine.
If you find someone to provide you with insurance, please post it. I’m definitely interested! Good luck.
I do have life insurance with State Farm. I had to take a substandard rate, which means they just rated me as high risk. I pay $36/month for $25,000 worth of whole life insurance. It’s higher than usual because (1) I’m diabetic and (2) it’s a whole life product meaning that once you have been approved, the rate is locked in for the rest of my life (or until age 100, which ever comes first. 
)and won’t go up, plus you build cash value over time. I got mine about 2 years ago and had been diabetic for 18 years.
If you’re denied, it’s okay. Just try to get the best control over your diabetes and get in the best health otherwise and get a doctor to write a note saying that your diabetes is in control and otherwise you’re fine and most of the time if you get a good underwriter, they’ll approve it. I deal with this all of the time because I am an insurance agent myself and I see people both accepted and denied with diabetes. I’m just glad that the rule is no longer an automatic denial - at least they look at the applications and medical history now! In my experience with The Hartford, though, they are very strict with their policies (all lines, not just life insurance). So if you get approved, great! Take the policy because they are a great company, but if you are denied, don’t give up, just go with another company like Columbian, State Farm, Farm Bureau, or Midatlantic.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. The policy we were looking at is a Universal one cost: $106 and change per month (more expensive than if I was “healthy”…The agent spoke with an underwriter before meeting with us and she asked if I was working. I’ve worked consistently for over 10 years now (since graduating from college). The policy my parents have on me is thru Midland National. Cynthia: Let me know what your parents say.
Lillybell: I’m glad it’s no longer an “automatic no” these days too.
Jonathan: I have been Diabetic 28 years now (talk about pre-existing condition!) so I expect the expense (and to some extent the “No”) I just hope that they don’t deny me outright. The medical person confirmed my Saturday appt for that part and the agent said it takes 4-6 weeks to find out approval…Wish me luck all!
As a benefit of my job, I have regular health insurance as well as LIFE insurance. I am not sure from which company but I’ll look it up in my files. I’ve been diabetic for 17 years too. As far as the cost, I do not know how much it is since this is a benefit provided (and paid for) by my employer.
With my job, I get standard life insurance of $24,000 (down from $28,000) along with my health insurance. I have been denied a couple of times trying to get life insurance at my last job (because it was offered as a supplemental and I did not qualify, but I was happily informed that I could get cancer insurance…lol)
Stacie/Callie: That’s awesome that your jobs offer it as a benefit. I have heard of Health Insurance offered (as it is with my job) but not Life. Very cool!
Hi Jody. I have a life insurance policy through Prudential. Its 50,000 whole life and I pay 45 dollars a month. The only way I got it was because my parents had insured me and I was able to transfer it to my own name, but it there was a specific time period I had to do it by (I think before I turned 24 or 25). I was automatically insured, no medical exam or anything., I have had diabetes 20 years and that was 8-9 years ago. I’m not sure how old you are but find out what you can do with your parents policy they have for you. Good luck!!!
Julie:
Thanks for the advice. I’m 34 and my folks got the policy back in 1991 for me. I’ve been Diabetic 28 years. I am switching my beneficiary info from them to my husband on that policy (and we have been paying on it for a few years now ourselves). So at least I have that one…
In addition to my John Hancock policy, I also have a couple of others – I’m lucky to have worked for businesses that provide group health policies for all employees and, even more fortunate that they are portable. At my last job, the policy was portable, and I took it with me (not going to ever give up insurance like that). The insurance at my current job is also portable and, if I leave, I will again take it with me. Insurance portability will also be an issue if I ever leave.
It would be really nice if ADA or JDRF was able to set something up with an insurer to enable PWDs to get life insurance. Sure, it would be more expensive than for people who are not PWDs, but it would be a nice bit of advocacy to address an issue that affects most, if not all PWDs. Just a thought.
I have State Farm Whole Life
if an insurance company could help us with our long term goals of controlling our diabetes, then they wouldn’t spend as much as money as they think.
Well I finally heard ya’all! I was ACCEPTED!!! Yea! I have Life Insurance. The agent comes next week for me to “finalize” the paperwork…Thanks for the ear and the words of encouragement. I am breathing a little easier these days!