Posts filed under 'Type 1 diabetes'
Over the years, North American Ccmpany for Life and Health has moved in and out of the impaired risk spot light. Overall though, they would have to be judged as one of the better small companies out there.
North American isn’t one of the big boys, but they are still here after 120+ years and there is something to be said for not going away. Having said that, there is a pretty significant rumor milling around that Midland National and North American will be merging soon. Attached is a summary of ratings and stats on both companies.
north-american.pdf
midland-national.pdf
North American has proven to be consistently formidable with the private pilot market. Other companies come and go, but North American has been steady there for years. They also underwrite toward the top of the stack on strokes and some cardiac issues.
In recent history they were leaders in the industry in underwriting type 2 diabetes and cancer, but have become more conservative on that in the past year or so. They have also taken a step backwards on sleep apnea. They are pretty middle of the road on these issues at this point. We are in the process of finding out what direction they will take if they do merge with Midland.
In my memory they have never been good with type 1 diabetes, multiple impairments such as diabetes and heart disease combined, or foreign travel.
Bottom line. One of the reasons that independent agents can be a valuable partner in your search for life insurance is that when a company changes their view on a certain impairment, we’re not stuck there. The winds are always shifting and flexibility is a good thing.
October 19th, 2007
Whether it type 1 diabetes and your choice of insulin types, or type 2 diabetes and your choice of the 5000 oral medications on the market, all anyone with diabetes is looking for is a way to take the stress off their body.
In a post yesterday, Allie Beatty wondered out loud (that is the only way she wonders), why doctors aren’t suggesting vitamins and other natural supplements at the very least, along with the prescribed medication.
I think she makes an excellent point. Whether it is diabetes, heart disease or cancer, adding vitamins and natural supplements certainly isn’t going to hurt. Since they have proven benefits for perfectly healthy people, they are bound to have even more benefits for people who’s bodies are struggling to fight off a disease.
Bottom line. Life insurance underwriters may not be impressed with the fact that you take vitamins, but if you happen to be healthier than someone else with the same disease, they will reward that.
October 19th, 2007
Some months ago I had an interaction with Allie Beatty, a writer for www.thediabetesblog.com. She threw a curve at me concerning the significance of c-peptide in control of type 1 diabetes. I approached several insurance and reinsurance companies to see if they had ever considered considering c-peptide levels in their underwriting for type 1 diabetes. They do test for it on insurance exams. No one ever responded. It seems they stand ready to use out of range c-peptide results against you, but don’t seem ready to embrace normal results as being a favorable thing. Somehow the lack of response was not a surprise to Allie. It kinda ticked me off.
In one of her last posts for the diabetes blog, she threw out a very compelling case for why blood sugar levels alone should not be the sole determinant of control for type 1 diabetes. I suspect we will see this picked up quickly on her new website . I highly recommend that if you have type 1 diabetes or know someone that does, that you take a few minutes a day and follow what she has found to pass on to those who need it.
Will life insurance underwriters shake things up and consider c-peptide? The truth is that they probably won’t any time soon based on the fact that I couldn’t find any that would even discuss it.
Bottom line. For now it would appear that glucose control will be the determinant of diabetes control when it comes to life insurance. My hope is that new doors for treatment will be opened and that as they are, life insurance will become available at affordable rates for more and more people.
September 17th, 2007
I was posed an interesting challenge recently. While I have successfully found affordable life insurance for many adults with type 1 diabetes, I had actually never been asked about life insurance for children with the disease. My usual optimism led me to believe that it was just a matter of asking enough companies, the area where most agents fall short.
After speaking with underwriters in the top 40 or so companies, what I found was a discernible lack of interest in the market. Most companies simply quoted reinsurance guidelines. Depending on what company I talked to they said that they couldn’t consider someone with type 1 diabetes until they were either age 15 or age 20. I did get a few companies that said they would consider younger ages on a case by case basis, but they got real quiet when I asked them for underwriting guidelines (what criteria the younger person would have to meet).
I asked several underwriters why the younger children were uninsurable and they simply stated that “per their guidelines”. No concrete answers, or maybe just too much concrete. I finally had an enlightening discussion with Mike McFarland from Prudential, who said what I was running into, the reason for the knee jerk reaction, was that insurance companies haven’t done mortality studies on children with any severe impairment such as type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, etc. They simply don’t have any data upon which to base the pricing for products.
That coupled with the fact that there really isn’t any financial incentive for them to study and create products for a relatively small market that would produce relatively low premium, kind of sets the tone. Well, now the war has been defined and the battles are becoming clearer.
Since the ADA thinks I am just in this as a salesman, I have enlisted help from Allie Beatty who has been blogging her heart out for some time and will soon be launching her own blog at www.lovediabetes.com. Allie has type 1 diabetes and for her age, wow, what a warrior. She has agreed to help arm me with the facts it will take to get a fair audience with insurance companies.
Bottom line. Life insurance companies make big money and for them to cut and run from children just because it might not make them more big bucks, or because they really haven’t done their homework and aren’t interested in doing it, isn’t acceptable. Game on!
September 5th, 2007
For many people with type 1 diabetes the introduction of Exubera, an inhalable insulin, was a break through long past due. From a life insurance underwriting standpoint, it was seen as a breakthrough that might help those with diabetes more easily maintain the glucose control that is needed for the best insurance rates.
An issue for those dependent on insulin has always been the awkwardness, and for some the embarrassment, of having to inject insulin. I have often read blogs, especially by younger people, who have felt a real stigma from having to inject insulin several times a day. It seemed like an inhalable insulin might be able to work some of those issues out.
Diane Rixon who writes for thediabetesblog.com offered a not so glowing report on Exubera and other products that companies had rushed to produce, knowing that making life easier for someone with type 1 diabetes was a sure way to big money.
Glucose control, from an underwriting standpoint, is the best of two worlds. It shows that the diabetes is being managed, and well managed glucose levels are a way to avoid other collateral health issues such as those outlined in a previous post .
Bottom line. Anyway that can be found to make treatment easier for type 1 diabetes is going to help them in many ways. Life insurance may not be at the top of their list, but when they get down the list, it will have helped there also.
August 10th, 2007
As the world turns! I suppose changes in life insurance underwriting are probably researched and well thought out, but at times it feels like underwriters just wake up on a different side of the underwriting bed and decide to shake things up. Occasionally a change will be so far out there that I swear the underwriter was abducted and their brain exhanged for alien spare parts…..fodder for a less serious blog!
With type 2 diabetes , the past benchmarks have always been a hemoglobin A1c below 7 and onset after age 40. If all other risk factors were well controlled there were a number of companies that would offer standard and even better than standard rates.
Several companies have quietly nudged their hbA1c requirement down to 6.5. Allie Beatty who is one of the most prolific bloggers on the subject of diabetes, has offered her opinion that the A1c is not necessarily the bottom line measurement of control for diabetics. I shared her thoughts with several underwriters and the vice president of the largest reinsurance company in the world. None of them responded, or maybe they did. The A1c requirements have tightened.
The shift in underwriting the age of onset is almost a rebound effect. 10 years ago the most favorable underwriting was if the age of onset was after 60. Then there was a shift to favorable underwriting at onset over 40 as long as all the risk factors were well controlled and the person was compliant with treatment. Now the earth has shifted again and age 50 is the magic number.
Bottom line. The guidelines above don’t apply to every company. A good independent agent can still find great rates if you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Your job is to keep control of the problem, be compliant with your treatment, and keep risk factors like high blood pressure and obesity in check.
July 24th, 2007
If you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes and have shopped for life insurance, you more than likely ran into a few stumbling blocks, a few roadblocks and some outright dead ends. The real problem is that you probably ran into an agent who didn’t understand what to ask and where to go with that information.
Life insurance underwriters look for 3 primary things when evaluating life insurance in relation to diabetes. The more accurate the information you can provide, the more likely that you will get the quotes and approval that you want.
1. Know the status of your diabetes! Know the labwork numbers. Everyone can remember their last glucose reading from their own test. If you want to seriously shop for good rates on your life insurance you need to know your most recent hbA1c. Underwriters aren’t impressed if your last glucose reading was 105. They are impressed if your hbA1c is 5.8. Why? The A1c averages your glucose levels over a 3 months period. It knows when you’ve been good and when you haven’t. A 5.8 would indicate that you are in fact keeping your glucose in a normal range. Each time you get labs done, get a copy. If you’re serious about your disease, you need to know what’ s on your labs.
2. Know your medications and be compliant with your doctor’s recommendation for your treatment! If the doctor says you need to take a 500 mg tablet twice a day, do exactly that. Don’t take the one in the morning and skip the one in the evening because you feel pretty good. Underwriters want to see compliance and control and you don’t get one without the other.
3. Know, monitor and remember the status of other risk factors. If you’ve studied diabetes you know that one of the concerns for underwriters is the potential complications such as heart disease, neuropathy and retinopathy. Because of this, it is critical that you not only keep your glucose in check, but also your blood pressure and your weight. Obesity and hypertension are not your friends in your quest for good health and they are not going to win points with underwriters.
In summary, control, compliance and risk factors. Do the right things to stay healthy and you’re doing what it takes to get competitive life insurance rates.
July 16th, 2007
This, for me, just falls into the “go figure” category. Two of the best companies from a product and underwriting stance, MONY and US Financial, were purchased within the last year by AXA Equitable. For a while nothing changed and then snap (my imitation of Pacman), MONY is gone. And now snap again. By mid July US Financial will no longer exist.
US Financial was the innovative “clinical underwriting” company that shook everything up by announcing to the world that clients should be underwritten based on their own merit and not just thrown into the same bucket as say, every other person who has had a heart attack or every other person who had type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Thye were the company that made compliance and control the issue rather than the disease. They were the company that rewarded people for doing the right things. Well, the AXA has fallen on that kind of logical thinking and underwriting.
AXA Equitable. The 800 pound gorilla smashes another perfectly good company.
MONY was a great company in their own right. While they weren’t exactly clincical underwriters, they were somewhat disposed to fits of common sense. What a breath of fresh air that is, or was, in the life insurance business. They weren’t afraid to make the right decision even when if went just a little askew of what reinsurance companies would like to see. They were a great company for private pilots.
Again, the 800 pound gorilla does it’s job. Smash the competition. If you can’t beat them with products and rates, buy them and close them down.
It’s frustrating for me as an independent agent for a couple of reasons. First, two good choices for my clients are gone. Second, AXA Equitable doesn’t have anything worth a flip to offer to fill the void. Truth is their products and their prices kind of suck. That’s why that stupid gorilla doesn’t talk about life insurance.
My prayer, for the good of all life insurance clients out there, is that some other company will see that void and fill it and then stand up to any companies who try to buy them out of business.
July 2nd, 2007
There are many health things in life that just jump up and grab you. You never see it coming and you would have never dreamed of the impact it could have on your life. The question inevitably runs through your mind. What did I do to deserve this? What could I have done to avoid this?
The truth is there are a lot of health problems that you truly don’t have any control over. Type 1 diabetes for instance. Doctors know what it is and for the most part they know something about treating it, but the cause is illusive. While many times type 2 diabetes can be linked to lifestyle choices, lifestyle doesn’t seem to be a part of the picture with type 1.
Lifestyle choices, and specifically the way we eat, can have a direct impact on health problems such as obesity, colon cancer and heart disease. Making poor choices can lead to the problem. Making good choices can help you avoid them. Family history can also play a part in what happens to you, but more and more we are seeing that family history can be overcome by making prudent choices about how we live.
In a blog posted yesterday on www.thediabetesblog.com by Allie Beatty, Allie shares some very good recommendations for dietary changes that can not only help with control of diabetes, but could have a positive impact on anyone’s life. With life insurance underwriters looking at diabetes control as a major underwriting factor, anyone with diabetes who is anticipating purchasing life insurance should read the article.
Making healthy lifestyle choices can help secure the best possible life insurance rates. Making those choices will likely mean you add years to your life, and healthier years at that. Choosing a knowledgeable independent life insurance agent can help you make the most of your good choices.
June 7th, 2007
I just learned today that due to pressure from reinsurance companies, many life insurance companies will be charging higher rates for women who have had gestational diabetes. Again, why do you want an independent life insurance agent?? While many life insurance companies will now charge a higher rate for up to 10 years after a woman has gestational diabetes, not all of them will. Just like type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, it pays to have an agent who knows which companies have their head screwed on right.
This is a huge change as gestational diabetes was, in the past, considered a non issue from an underwriting standpoint as long as it resolved itself after the pregnancy. This caught a lot of agents off guard like the change in the stance on multiple basal cell carcinoma did a few years ago.
I will be researching the gestational diabetes issue to see if I can determine the logic and will share that with you when I get an answer. Can’t promise it will make sense or bear any semblance of reality, but I will get an answer.
Just a heads up from something I ran into today. Many life insurance quote websites only ask about health issues for the past 10 years. READ MY LIPS!!!!! That doesn’t mean that health events more than 10 years ago won’t impact your rates. Again, another reason to have a good agent who asks, “Have you EVER been diagnosed with or treated for”. I talked to a client today who answered no honestly to the 10 year question, but had two run ins with cancer prior to that. That is relevant!!
May 16th, 2007
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