Key points
It may ask about your type of diabetes, diagnosis date, treatment, recent monitoring results, significant episodes and any diagnosed complications. Insurers use different underwriting criteria, so their decisions and prices can vary.
This guide explains the information you may need, how Type 1 and Type 2 can affect an application and how to compare final offers. If you have another form of diabetes or are unsure of the type, use the diagnosis recorded by your healthcare professional rather than selecting a type yourself.
Your application options: You can apply directly to an insurer or use a broker. The right route depends on your circumstances and the support you want. A broker cannot guarantee acceptance, a particular price or specific terms.
What information might a life insurer ask for about diabetes?
The insurer needs factual information about the diabetes and the cover you want. Preparing this before you apply can make the questions easier to answer, but you do not need to obtain or interpret your complete medical record.
Information about your diabetes
Depending on the application, you may be asked for:
- the type of diabetes and date or age at diagnosis;
- medication, treatment and insulin use;
- a recent HbA1c result and test date, if known;
- monitoring arrangements and recent reviews;
- severe low blood glucose episodes, diabetic ketoacidosis or hospital treatment;
- diagnosed complications, investigations and ongoing monitoring; and
- pending tests, referrals, appointments or treatment changes.
A severe low blood glucose episode, sometimes called a severe hypo, generally means an episode where you needed help from another person. The application will set out the events and timeframes the insurer wants to know about.
Information about you and the policy
The insurer may also ask about your age, other health information, smoking or nicotine use, occupation and lifestyle. The amount of cover and how long it will last can also form part of the assessment.
Do not rely only on phrases such as “well managed”. Give the actual treatment, monitoring and results requested. If you cannot remember a date or result, check any records available to you or ask how the insurer wants you to answer. Give results as recorded. You do not need to interpret them medically.
Can diabetes-related complications affect an application?
Yes, they can affect underwriting, but they do not produce one automatic decision. The insurer may ask about a diagnosed complication, investigations, treatment and ongoing monitoring. It will consider this information with the rest of the application.
There is no need to diagnose or grade a complication yourself. Use the information recorded by your healthcare professional. Our broader guide explains how medical underwriting works.
Can you apply soon after a diabetes diagnosis?
You can apply after a recent diagnosis, but the insurer may need more current information before it can make a decision. Treatment may have only recently started, test results may be pending, a follow-up appointment may be due or there may not yet be much monitoring information.
The insurer may make a decision, request further evidence or wait until a review or test has been completed. A delayed decision is commonly called a postponement. There is no universal waiting period, and waiting does not guarantee a particular result later.
If information is still developing, ask the insurer or broker whether an application can be assessed now and what evidence may be required.
Why accurate answers matter when you apply
Read each health question carefully and answer it accurately. Include all the details the question asks for, and ask for clarification if its meaning or timeframe is unclear. This is what taking reasonable care means in practice.
You are not expected to volunteer an unlimited medical history outside the questions asked. If an incorrect or incomplete answer affected the insurer's decision, however, it could affect a later claim. The insurer might reduce the claim, apply different terms or treat the policy as though it had not started. The outcome depends on what the insurer would have done with the correct information and whether the mistake was careless, deliberate or reckless.
If you realise an answer needs correcting before the policy starts, contact the insurer or broker. Read our full explanation of medical disclosure and incorrect answers for more detail.
Does HbA1c affect life-insurance underwriting?
Read how the wider life insurance underwriting process works.
HbA1c is a blood test that reflects your average blood glucose level over roughly the previous two to three months. It is normally reported in mmol/mol in the UK, and an insurer may ask for your latest result and the date of the test.
Give the result exactly as recorded rather than converting it yourself. The insurer considers it with the rest of your medical history. One result does not determine the decision or price, and HbA1c is not a pass-or-fail score for life insurance.
Insurers use different criteria, so there is no universal HbA1c level that guarantees acceptance, standard terms or a particular premium. Clinical targets should be agreed with an appropriate healthcare professional and are not insurance acceptance thresholds. Do not change treatment for the purpose of an insurance application.
What if you do not know your recent HbA1c result?
Do not guess. Check any health records you can already access, or tell the insurer or broker that you do not know. They can explain whether the application needs the result or whether further evidence will be requested.
Life insurance with Type 1 diabetes
People with Type 1 diabetes can apply for life insurance. The insurer will consider your individual history, insulin treatment and monitoring rather than making a decision from the diagnosis alone.
It may ask how long you have had Type 1 diabetes, about recent monitoring results and whether you have experienced severe hypos, diabetic ketoacidosis, complications or hospital treatment. These are examples rather than a universal question list. Further medical evidence may be requested.
Does using insulin prevent life insurance cover?
No. Using insulin does not by itself prevent you from applying or determine whether cover will be offered. The insurer may consider insulin treatment alongside your diagnosis history, monitoring and the other information requested.
Use the central information checklist above when preparing. There is no need to repeat or interpret your medical records beyond the application questions.
Life insurance with Type 2 diabetes
People with Type 2 diabetes can also apply for life insurance. The insurer may ask how the condition is treated and monitored, whether medication or insulin is used, whether treatment has changed recently and whether there are diagnosed complications.
None of these details determines the outcome alone. The insurer will assess them with the rest of your medical and application information.
Can you get cover if you do not take diabetes medication?
You can apply, but not using glucose-lowering medication does not guarantee acceptance or the insurer's normal price. Explain how the condition is monitored using the information requested. Do not use an everyday phrase such as “diet controlled” as a substitute for the specific answers required, and do not assume that the absence of medication establishes remission.
What if Type 2 diabetes is treated with insulin?
Insulin use does not prevent an application or determine the result by itself. The insurer may ask when insulin treatment began and about recent monitoring, treatment changes and complications. Using insulin for Type 2 diabetes does not change the diagnosis to Type 1 diabetes.
Does diabetes make life insurance more expensive?
It can, but the diagnosis alone cannot predict the premium. The price depends on the insurer's assessment of the full application as well as the cover requested.
An online price may assume the insurer's normal terms. If your diabetes has not been assessed, treat that price as an initial indication. The final premium may change after medical underwriting. Compare offers only after each insurer has assessed the information it requires.
When comparing offers, check:
- the cover amount and policy term;
- the monthly premium;
- whether the premium is fixed or reviewable;
- any terminal-illness benefit;
- the decision on optional critical-illness cover, if selected; and
- the final underwriting terms.
If a premium is higher than expected, do not reduce the cover or term without checking that the policy would still meet the need you identified. Our guide explains what affects life-insurance cost in more detail.
Will you need a medical examination or GP report?
Not every application needs further medical evidence. Depending on the insurer and your circumstances, it may request a GP or consultant report, nurse screening, measurements, blood tests or a medical examination. Your permission is normally required for a report from a doctor who is or has been responsible for your care.
A request for evidence does not mean the application will be accepted or declined. It means the insurer needs more information before deciding. There is no fixed timescale, and an application can take longer if the insurer needs reports, tests or answers from a medical professional.
In Great Britain, you can ask to see a medical report covered by the Access to Medical Reports Act before it is sent. Separate legislation applies in Northern Ireland. The medical-evidence section of our pre-existing-conditions guide explains the process in more detail.
What outcomes are possible when you apply?
An insurer can make one of several decisions after assessing the application. It may also pause the process while it gathers more evidence.
| Possible decision or stage | What it can mean |
|---|---|
| Standard terms | Cover is offered at the insurer's normal price and policy terms for the product |
| Higher premium | The requested cover is offered at a higher price |
| Alternative cover or term offered | The insurer proposes a different amount, duration or product |
| More evidence required | The insurer waits for further information before deciding |
| Decision delayed, or postponement | The insurer defers its decision until more information, an event or more time is available |
| Decline | The insurer does not offer cover on that application |
Insurers can reach different decisions because their criteria vary, but another insurer is not guaranteed to make a more favourable offer. An informal or preliminary indication is not a formal offer.
What can you do after a postponement or decline?
Ask what explanation is available, whether a review date was given and what information might be needed later. A postponement does not promise that cover will be available after the stated period or event.
Before making several new applications, check whether they ask about previous postponements or declines. Where the service is available, a broker may be able to make a targeted preliminary enquiry with insurers on its panel. Continue to answer questions about previous decisions accurately.
Could a broker help with diabetes and life insurance?
A broker experienced in applications involving diabetes may help you prepare for the process and understand which insurers on its panel will accept an application for assessment. This describes a support capability, not a separate type of “diabetes life insurance”.
Depending on the service, a broker may:
- explain the information an insurer may require;
- help you prepare diagnosis, treatment and monitoring details;
- make a preliminary enquiry where available; and
- compare final prices and policy terms.
The applicant remains responsible for checking that the answers are accurate. A broker cannot override an insurer's assessment or guarantee acceptance, price or terms.
Before proceeding, check whether the broker advises on a limited panel or a wider part of the market, whether advice is provided, how the service is paid for and who will receive your health information.
Broker support may be useful if your medical history is complex, tests are pending, treatment has recently changed or you have previously been postponed or declined. Not everyone needs it.
How to prepare and compare life insurance with diabetes
A short, organised checklist can help you avoid guessing and compare offers on the same basis. It cannot guarantee a decision, but it can make the application clearer.
- Work out the amount and term you need.
- Gather your diagnosis, treatment, medication and recent monitoring details.
- Note any pending tests, appointments, referrals or treatment changes.
- Choose whether to apply directly or use a broker-supported route.
- Read each question carefully and give every detail it asks for.
- Compare the final terms before replacing existing cover.
Do not cancel an existing policy until the replacement insurer has confirmed the start date, you have accepted the final terms and the required payment arrangements are in place. A new application uses your current age and health information. If you reduce the cover or term, check that the policy still meets the need you identified.
Questions about diabetes and life insurance
These questions cover related circumstances that are not addressed in detail above. The wording on the particular application still determines what information the insurer requires.
Do I need to tell a life insurer about gestational diabetes or diabetes during pregnancy?
Tell the insurer if its question includes current or previous gestational diabetes, diabetes during pregnancy, treatment, monitoring or investigations. It may ask when the condition occurred, how it was treated and what later monitoring showed. Do not describe previous gestational diabetes as Type 1 or Type 2 unless that is your recorded diagnosis.
Can I apply while waiting for a diabetes-related appointment or test?
Yes, but a pending appointment, test or investigation may affect whether the insurer can decide immediately. It may assess the available information, request further evidence or postpone its decision. An insurer or broker can explain the available route without guaranteeing the outcome.
Can diabetes affect critical-illness cover as well as life cover?
Yes. Life cover and critical-illness cover are assessed separately and can receive different decisions or terms. Read how life and critical-illness cover works before comparing combined or separate protection.
Should I replace an existing policy after being diagnosed with diabetes?
A new application will use your current age and health information. Do not cancel existing cover until the replacement has started and you have compared and accepted its final terms. Check the relevant policy wording for any new initial restrictions.
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