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Life insurance with diabetes, type 1 and type 2
Life insurance with diabetes is available: Diabetes UK says that if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes you can still get it (Diabetes UK ↗).
It may cost more, and it can be harder to find direct or through comparison sites, so a specialist broker may help (Diabetes UK ↗).
Here is what insurers ask and how to apply.
Every claim here is our summary of a named external source, linked beside it. Sources change: check the wording at the link before you rely on it.
Life insurance with diabetes, the key facts
The points that matter most, each linked to the guide or law it comes from.
At a glance
- You can still get life insurance with type 1 or type 2 diabetes (Diabetes UK ↗)
- Type 2 is often more straightforward, Legal & General says (Legal & General ↗)
- With type 1 you may not get a decision at the point of sale (Legal & General ↗)
- A higher HbA1c reading may increase your monthly payments (Diabetes UK ↗)
- If your HbA1c falls, you can ask your insurer to review your policy (Diabetes UK ↗)
- An insurer can't reject your claim if you took reasonable care to answer its questions honestly (MoneyHelper ↗)
ABI figure, all individual protection; check at the link: (ABI ↗)
Can you get life insurance with diabetes?
Yes. Diabetes UK says you can still get life insurance with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, though it can be harder to find direct from an insurer or through comparison sites, because of the condition (Diabetes UK ↗).
The type you have changes the process.
Pick one to see what Legal & General and Diabetes UK say.
What to expect
Often more straightforward
Legal & General says life insurance for type 2 diabetics is often more straightforward, and that with no additional complications you may be able to get a decision at the point of sale (Legal & General ↗).
Cost still depends on how well your diabetes is managed and on other factors such as heart problems and smoking, Diabetes UK says (Diabetes UK ↗).
Available, with more questions
Legal & General says life insurance for type 1 diabetics is available, but you may not get a decision at the point of sale, because it may ask your GP for more information (Legal & General ↗).
Diabetes UK says type 1 applicants may need a full medical report from their GP as part of the underwriting (Diabetes UK ↗).
Summaries of each source. Check the wording at the links.
How to apply for life insurance with diabetes
Insurers ask for specific details.
Diabetes UK and Legal & General both publish lists; pick one to see what to have ready.
Your latest HbA1c result is on both (Diabetes UK ↗) (Legal & General ↗).
An insurer needs your consent to ask your GP for a report, and Legal & General says you will be told and have 21 days to arrange to see it (Legal & General ↗).
That right comes from the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 (legislation.gov.uk ↗).
What insurers ask for
Diabetes UK’s list
- Your latest HbA1c reading, normally from within the last year (Diabetes UK ↗)
- A list of your medications and treatments (Diabetes UK ↗)
- Cholesterol levels and blood pressure readings (Diabetes UK ↗)
- The date you were diagnosed (Diabetes UK ↗)
- Any complications related to diabetes (Diabetes UK ↗)
- Your height and weight (Diabetes UK ↗)
Legal & General’s list
- When you were diagnosed, and the date of your last diabetic review (Legal & General ↗)
- Whether your treatment includes insulin injections or an insulin pump (Legal & General ↗)
- Hospital admissions, other than regular diabetic clinic appointments (Legal & General ↗)
- The result of your latest HbA1c test (Legal & General ↗)
- Complications such as kidney and eye problems (Legal & General ↗)
Each list is our summary of the linked page. Other insurers may ask differently.
Tips for diabetics getting life insurance
Diabetes UK says it may help to go through a specialist insurance broker who works with insurers more likely to be able to help (Diabetes UK ↗).
MoneyHelper says criteria can vary significantly between insurers, so shop around (MoneyHelper ↗).
Prepare
Get your latest results
Your HbA1c, blood pressure and cholesterol, with dates.
List
Write down your treatment
Medicines, insulin, and any complications or hospital stays.
Help
Consider a specialist broker
Someone who can look across insurers for you.
Answer
Answer every question fully
Including type 1 or type 2, and every complication asked about.
Declaring diabetes protects your claim
MoneyHelper says an insurer can't reject your claim if you took reasonable care to answer its questions honestly (MoneyHelper ↗).
Legal & General says failing to answer questions truthfully and accurately could invalidate any future claim and result in the policy being cancelled (Legal & General ↗).
If your health changes between applying and being accepted, Vitality says to let the insurer know straight away (Vitality ↗).
If an answer turns out to be wrong
No remedy against a careful answer
The law asks you to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer (legislation.gov.uk ↗). The insurer's remedies apply where the consumer breached that duty (legislation.gov.uk ↗).
It depends on what the insurer would have done
If it would not have offered cover at all, it may cancel the policy and refuse all claims, but must return the premiums (legislation.gov.uk ↗).
If it would have offered different terms, such as an exclusion, the policy can be treated as if it had those terms. If it would have charged more, it may reduce a claim in proportion (legislation.gov.uk ↗).
The policy can be cancelled
The insurer may avoid the contract and refuse all claims, and need not return the premiums, except where it would be unfair to keep them (legislation.gov.uk ↗).
Our summary of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2 and Schedule 1. Read the Act at the links; it is the authority.
Specialist brokers and charity help
MoneyHelper says it is important to shop around, because criteria and approaches can vary significantly between insurers, and that a specialist broker can research the market for you (MoneyHelper ↗).
If you think an insurer's risk assessment isn't based on a reliable or relevant source of information, MoneyHelper says you can challenge it under the Equality Act (MoneyHelper ↗).
Complain to the insurer first.
We do not recommend brokers or insurers.
Before you buy, the FCA tells consumers to check the firm on its Firm Checker (FCA ↗).
- Charity guidance
Diabetes UK
Its life insurance guide lists what insurers ask for and suggests a specialist broker (Diabetes UK ↗).
Open Diabetes UK ↗ - Free guidance
MoneyHelper
Its guide to buying insurance if you're ill or disabled covers disclosure, brokers and your rights (MoneyHelper ↗).
Open MoneyHelper ↗ - Brokers
Find a specialist broker
MoneyHelper points to the British Insurance Brokers' Association website to find a specialist broker (MoneyHelper ↗).
Open Find a specialist broker ↗ - Complaints
Financial Ombudsman Service
After the insurer's final response, or eight weeks, you can take a complaint to the ombudsman (MoneyHelper ↗).
Open Financial Ombudsman Service ↗
Run a business? Key person cover asks too
If your company insures you as a key person, the company applies, owns the plan and pays for it, and any payout goes to the business (Royal London ↗) (Legal & General ↗).
You are the person insured, so your diabetes is part of the application: Legal & General's adviser guide says the key person gives their own personal and medical details (Legal & General ↗).
If Aviva can't decide on a case straight away, it gives free life cover while it looks into it (Aviva ↗).
The business must also be able to show it would lose profits in your absence (Legal & General ↗).
Applicant
The company applies
The business owns the policy and pays for it. You are the person insured.
Your answers
You answer the health questions
The same care applies as for a personal policy: answer every question fully.
Underwriting
The insurer assesses the case
It may ask for more evidence before it decides, as with any application.
Sizing
The cover is sized on the business
How much cover the business can take is based on what it would lose.
Check it for yourself
Every claim on this page is our summary of one of the documents listed here.
We last checked them against the live sources on 28 September 2026.
The documents are the authority, not this page.
Insurers and HMRC update them, so validate any figure or condition at its link before you rely on it.
- Diabetes UK: life insurance for people with diabetes ↗What insurers ask for, HbA1c and cost, specialist brokers
- Legal & General: life insurance and diabetes ↗Type 1 and type 2, and the details it asks for
- Legal & General: life insurance with pre-existing medical conditions ↗What counts, what it asks, and GP reports
- Access to Medical Reports Act 1988, section 4 ↗Your right to see a GP report before it is sent
- MoneyHelper: buying insurance if you’re ill or disabled ↗Disclosure, specialist brokers, shopping around and the Equality Act
- MoneyHelper: if your insurance claim is rejected ↗Reasonable care, and complaints to the Financial Ombudsman
- Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, section 2 ↗The consumer’s duty of reasonable care
- Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012, Schedule 1 ↗What an insurer may do after a careless, deliberate or reckless misrepresentation
- Vitality: life insurance with a heart condition ↗What insurers look at after a heart attack
- Legal & General: Key Person Protection technical guide ↗The key person completes the medical details and signs as the life insured
- ABI: protection claims paid in 2024 ↗Share of claims paid, and why claims were declined
- Royal London: key person protection ↗The company applies and owns the plan
- Legal & General: key person insurance ↗Owned and paid for by the business, and the loss of profits it must show
- Aviva for advisers: business life insurance options ↗Free life cover while it looks into a case
- FCA: check a firm ↗Use the Firm Checker before buying insurance
Life insurance with diabetes, answered
Not financial advice. This page is general information. Before buying insurance, the FCA tells consumers to check the firm on its Firm Checker (FCA ↗). For free guidance, see MoneyHelper.