Insurance for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes is a complex topic with as many variations as there are symptoms of the disease. That can make the search for life insurance an arduous process for people with diabetes. Dealing with a skilled and knowledgeable provider is essential, because each insurance company has its own standards for coverage. If you apply to the wrong one and get rejected, the rejection becomes part of your medical record for all other companies to see. That can lead to further rejections that otherwise might not have happened.

That’s just one of many tricky aspects of obtaining coverage for people with diabetes. On this page, we’ll show you what kind of life insurance policies you can expect to find for different types of diabetes, which companies provide the policies, and what kind of payouts the policies offer to your loved ones.

So read on. Even though you may not qualify for the same policy as a healthy person, you probably have more options than you think.

Learn More About Insurance for People With Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes

According to the American Diabetes Association: “It Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. The body breaks down the sugars and starches you eat into a simple sugar called glucose, which it uses for energy. Insulin is a hormone that the body needs to get glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body.”

While it’s possible to obtain life insurance if you have type 1 diabetes as long as your condition is well-controlled, the underwriting process is more difficult. If you’re approved, you most likely will be rated in a lower health class (“substandard”), which might only mean that your premiums will be higher or there will be a limit to how much life insurance coverage you are eligible for.

Type 2 Diabetes

According to the American Diabetes Association: “If you have type 2 diabetes, your body does not use insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance. At first, your pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. But, over time it isn’t able to keep up and can’t make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels.”

Type 2 diabetes is also known as “adult onset diabetes.” It’s easier to get people with type 2 diabetes approved for life insurance coverage than those with type 1 diabetes. That’s because type 2 diabetes poses a lower risk to insurance companies as long as it’s controlled through medication or changes in health behaviors, there are no additional complications, and the disease is monitored by a physician. As a result, people with type 2 diabetes are able to get more affordable rates and better health ratings than those with type 1 diabetes can get.

Gestational Diabetes

According to Babycenter.com: “When you’re pregnant, your body naturally becomes more resistant to insulin so that more glucose is available to nourish your baby. For most moms-to-be, this isn’t a problem: When your body needs additional insulin to process excess glucose in blood, the pancreas secretes more. But if the pancreas can’t keep up with the increased demand for insulin during pregnancy, blood sugar levels rise too high because the cells aren’t using the glucose. This results in gestational diabetes.”

Since gestational diabetes is often a temporary situation involving glucose intolerance during pregnancy, many insurance companies aren’t overly concerned about a previous history of it. The biggest concern is if the diabetes continues after the pregnancy and becomes type 2 diabetes. If there are no additional signs of diabetes post-pregnancy, then obtaining good rates on life insurance should not be an issue.