Underwriting considerations for diabetes

I'm often asked about the underwriting for different diseases. While you have to be in pretty good health, it doesn't always have to be perfect. Let's take a look at a few different diseases and the underwriting considerations for long term care.

Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes is a chronic disease of sugar metabolism where either the pancreas produces insufficient amounts of insulin or insulin is produced in sufficient quantity but cannot be fully utilized. Hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar) is the result. Persistent hyperglycemia eventually damages virtually all organ systems.

There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 (insulin dependent diabetes) and Type 2 (non-insulin dependent diabetes). Diabetes is of increased significance when combined with obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and other circulatory problems. These combination histories are underwritten very conservatively by most companies. The major underwriting considerations of this disease include the stability of the disease and the presence and severity of complications.