Everyone talks about maintaining health insurance while living with Type 1 Diabetes, but one thing I never put a lot of thought into was life insurance coverage. When I started to explore life insurance options a few years ago, it freaked me out. I started to find out that it was going to be pretty tough to get affordable life insurance as a person with diabetes.
Recently, I came across a company called Health IQ and started to learn some more about them. Back in November 2018, they announced a partnership with Protective Life Insurance Company to create a life insurance option for people with diabetes who are living a healthy lifestyle and managing their diabetes well with a much more cost effective option.
“Type 2 diabetes should not define your health destiny or be the only deciding factor in pricing your life insurance. While none of us can fully control the health cards we’re dealt, we can control how we play those cards. We at Health IQ believe well-managed diabetics who live a healthy lifestyle work very hard to manage their disease and deserve financial savings for their effort. We’re proud to have pioneered the data and science that paved the way for this offering,” said Munjal Shah, CEO, Health IQ.” – Source
Why is this so important?
Using Technology to Make Decisions
In the past, when underwriting companies would evaluate a person’s health and life insurance policy options, they would look at a health chart and recent labs and make a decision based off of that. Using technology to help make these decisions now makes it much easier and it also allows the usage of more data in order to approve someone’s application, even if they are diabetic.
Health IQ has collected data from health quizzes to help people qualify for lower insurance rates. Health IQ helps runners, cyclists, weightlifters, swimmers (all of which can also be diabetics) secure additional savings during the underwriting process for their healthy, active lifestyle.
“Health IQ’s findings were corroborated by a recent 2018 paper by Rawshani, et al. in the New England Journal of Medicine studying the impact of recommended targets for mortality and cardiovascular risk factors in Type 2 diabetics. The paper shows that the risk of mortality for an unmanaged diabetic increases by 299%, while the risk for managed diabetics increases by only 15%.” – Source
Better Rates for Healthier Lifestyle
Notably, this new life insurance for well-managed diabetics offering creates a new rate class and extends Health IQ’s data science to underwrite more fairly for individuals with T2D that are living a healthy lifestyle. Combining their current health, their health literacy (Health IQ Quiz Score), and their healthy lifestyle (fitness and specific nutrition regimen) allows them to qualify for the higher rate class, rather than starting at Standard and demoted to lower table ratings outright. It’s a more fair pricing model. For those working to reverse symptoms of T2D it means they are no longer penalized for just having a diagnosis, but rewarded for the proactive steps they are taking to live well.
How Can you qualify for Health IQ’s Life Insurance for Diabetics
Currently, this offer is specifically designed for Type 2 diabetics. The first step in this process is to take the Health IQ Diabetic Quiz. In order to qualify, you must score “Elite” on this quiz. The Elite status of the quiz is to ensure that you are meeting the minimum eligibility requirements for underwriting. You will also be required to show evidence of living a healthy lifestyle. For example, blood sugar logs, exercise / activity trackers, recent race or competition results, etc. https://www.healthiq.com/blog/life-insurance-for-diabetics-living-healthy-lifestyle/
Why am I writing about this?
Since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in April 2004, my life changed in so many ways. One of those ways is the way that the insurance industry looks at me. As someone with diabetes, you are looked at as having the Plague. They do not want to touch you, work with you, or help you at all. Since the launch of the Affordable Care Act, that has changed a bit when it comes to health insurance, but unless you were working with a company that understood diabetes, it was nearly impossible to get a sizable policy that meets your family’s needs. If you did, you were almost certainly paying very high and potentially cost prohibitive rates.
With Health IQ’s technology and data, now you can lower those rates. Let’s use a real life example.
Tim is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He isn’t unhealthy or a smoker, his body just has certain predispositions and genetically he was dealt certain cards. His wife gets pregnant and now he has a new reason to insure his income and to protect his family. Since his medical history now says that he has Type 2 diabetes, he’s instantly knocked down multiple rate classes and the monthly premium quotes he’s getting instantly skyrocket, but what’s he to do? He needs to have a policy in place for his family.
Since his diagnosis, Tim had a reality check and decided to start eating healthier, going to the gym 6 days a week. He lost 50 pounds, his BMI is lower, his cholesterol is at much healthier levels, he is off blood pressure medication and his resting heart rate is much lower.
You know what hasn’t changed? Tim’s life insurance policy rate quotes.
That’s where Health IQ comes in and that’s why I think this is so important. Health IQ is helping change the way that underwriting views diabetics.
We may have diabetes, but we can still be healthy. I know plenty of diabetics who are much healthier than their non-diabetic friends and family. Insurance should be more fair for those that are proactively maintaining and improving their health. Health IQ has built new models to help people like Tim secure lower rates.
Learn more about Health IQ’s life insurance for type 2 diabetics and reach out to them for a quote if you’re looking for more fairly priced coverage, additional coverage to a current work policy, for accidental or disability insurance. They’re based in California and licensed in all 50 states, with a great 9.5/10 rating on Trustpilot based on their customers’ testimonials.
*This post is a sponsored post. I have personally reviewed and used this service. You can view my full disclosure here.
I cannot stress enough, how important it is for people with diabetes to think about life insurance. I am forever grateful that my parents purchased a life policy with an option that allowed me to get more coverage as I aged regardless of health. They did this at age 1 and I took a small $5,000 policy all the way up to $50,000 after I was diagnosed with diabetes
I scaled it back as I grew older and had less need of coverage. But I have never been without life insurance since I was 1 year old. I had no control over diabetes, but I do have some control over how I work with life insurance. The younger we buy it, the better, the more we purchase, the better, scaling back is usually easier than scaling up.
Whether type 1 or type 2, if you have children or not. Purchasing life insurance is a sound investment for those that depend on you. Remember we do not buy insurance for us, we buy it to ease the life of those who rely on us.