We are by no means where I would like to see diabetes life insurance underwriting, but compared to 15 years ago, 10 years ago, even 5 years ago, life is good.

I’ve talked a lot about adult onset type 1 diabetes life insurance approvals. The obvious thing going for a client with adult onset type 1 is that the diabetes hasn’t had nearly as much time as juvenile onset to beat up on their body. Also, with adult onset there is maturity on the side of the client.

The flip side is juvenile onset. Anyone who has followed this forum for long knows about the ongoing war I have with companies over the issue of not be willing the offer a child policy to a kid with type 1 diabetes. I’ve been to war with companies and with the ADA over their lack of understanding of the issue. I am still on the losing end of that argument with insurance companies simply falling back on not having any real mortality data that deals specifically with children with type 1. The ADA simply won’t allow me on their forum to talk about it. They decided several years ago that I was just trying to weasel my way into their forums as a salesman.

But progress is being made. A young adult with juvenile type 1 diabetes would have been hard pressed to find anyone to offer life insurance 10 years ago. The other day I shopped for a 32 year old, diabetic since age 9 and every company I approached made an offer and the best of them was a very good offer. Now I’m not going to make you believe that it’s a wide open market now. I sent the request out to companies I thought would reply and 9 out of 9 did so positively. If I had sent it to Northwestern Mutual or State Farm it would have been rejected. If I had sent it to these same 9 companies 10 years ago it would have been rejected. Progress is indeed being made.

It still takes good control as measured by the hbA1c. And it still takes an absence of collateral health issues, but for the person that has been serious about managing their diabetes, the opportunity for affordable life insurance is there.

Bottom line. Sometimes I wonder if I will live long enough to see all the changes I’ve fought for, but who knows. Another 30 years of listening to me scream and yell will, if history holds true, at least continue to yield positive results.