Can I get life insurance with type 2 diabetes?

Yes, in most cases. Well-controlled type 2 diabetes, diagnosed in adulthood with an A1C in range and no complications, is typically insurable at a Standard class or a mild rating. Insulin use, complications, or an early diagnosis push the rating up. Final expense and guaranteed-acceptance policies are available regardless.

Does high blood pressure raise my life insurance price?

Controlled hypertension, on medication with normal readings, usually still qualifies for Preferred or Standard with many carriers. Uncontrolled readings or hypertension combined with other conditions move you to Standard or a rating.

What does a health rating mean on a life policy?

A rating, also called a table rating, is a percentage added to the Standard premium for a higher-than-average risk. Table 2 is roughly 50 percent more than Standard; each step adds about 25 percent. Ratings are per carrier, so the same person can be Standard at one company and Table 2 at another.

Written by PolicyChat Life, a licensed life insurance agency. Estimates come from the same pricing tables our chat, Sage, uses; they are not quotes. Updated 2026-09-18.

Last updated September 2026 · PolicyChat Life.

Life insurance with diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol

Short answer. All three are usually insurable. Controlled high blood pressure or cholesterol typically lands in Preferred or Standard. Controlled type 2 diabetes typically lands in Standard or a mild rating. What moves the price is control, not the diagnosis: readings in range, on medication, no complications. If the condition is serious, a guaranteed-acceptance policy will still cover final expenses.

What “controlled” means to an underwriter

Underwriters price the risk they can see in your records: your recent readings, your medications and how long you have been on them, your A1C if diabetic, your build, and whether there are complications. A diagnosis with good numbers for a year or more reads as a managed risk. A diagnosis with no follow-up reads as an unknown one.

Condition by condition

High cholesterol. The mildest. Treated cholesterol with a normal ratio is Preferred at many carriers. Untreated high readings alone rarely drop you below Standard.

High blood pressure. Controlled on medication with normal readings: Preferred or Standard, depending on the carrier. Uncontrolled, or combined with obesity or diabetes: Standard with a rating.

Type 2 diabetes. Diagnosed after 40, A1C in the low 7s or better, no insulin, no complications: Standard at the friendlier carriers, Table 2 at others. Insulin-dependent, diagnosed young, or with kidney, eye, or nerve complications: higher ratings, or simplified-issue final expense instead of term.

Type 1 diabetes. Insurable at a rating with good control; carrier choice matters more than anything.

Why the carrier matters

Each carrier has its own build chart and its own thresholds. The same 55-year-old with controlled diabetes can be Standard at one company and rated at another. That is the reason to apply through an agency that is appointed with several carriers and sends your application to the one that treats your profile best, rather than to whichever company advertised to you.

When to stop chasing term

If the condition is severe, dialysis, oxygen, a recent stroke, current cancer treatment, term underwriting will decline. A guaranteed-acceptance whole life policy, usually up to $25,000, will not, with a two-year graded benefit. For final expenses that is the right tool.

What Sage does with this

Sage asks three plain questions, tobacco, conditions, build, estimates the class you would likely land in, and shows the price for that class, not the teaser price for a perfect applicant. The table below is what those classes cost.

20-year term, monthly premium by age (estimates, updated 2026-09-18)

20-year level term, non-tobacco. Preferred Plus = best health class; Standard = typical with a controlled condition. Industry estimates from published carrier rate tables, monthly premium, not a quote. The carrier confirms the price when it underwrites.

Age	$250,000		$500,000		$1,000,000
	Preferred Plus	Standard	Preferred Plus	Standard	Preferred Plus	Standard
25	$8–$10	$9–$14	$12–$20	$17–$29	$23–$38	$33–$55
30	$8–$12	$10–$17	$14–$24	$20–$34	$27–$46	$38–$66
35	$9–$14	$13–$20	$18–$28	$26–$40	$34–$53	$49–$76
40	$12–$19	$17–$27	$24–$38	$34–$55	$46–$72	$66–$104
45	$18–$28	$26–$40	$36–$56	$52–$80	$68–$106	$98–$153
50	$28–$44	$40–$63	$56–$88	$80–$126	$106–$167	$153–$240
55	$44–$72	$63–$104	$88–$144	$126–$207	$167–$274	$240–$393
60	$80–$120	$115–$172	$160–$240	$230–$345	$304–$456	$437–$655
65	$140–$220	$201–$316	$280–$440	$402–$632	$532–$836	$765–$1,202
70	$247–$388	$355–$557	$493–$775	$709–$1,115	$938–$1,473	$1,348–$2,118

Tobacco roughly doubles these numbers. Example, $500K Standard, tobacco: 25: $41–$69 · 30: $48–$83 · 35: $62–$97 · 40: $83–$131 · 45: $124–$193 · 50: $193–$304 · 55: $304–$497 · 60: $552–$828 · 65: $966–$1,518 · 70: $1,702–$2,675.

See your own number. Sage sizes the coverage, asks three plain health questions, and shows the price range you'd actually get, before anyone asks for your phone number.

Ask Sage: I was turned down before

PolicyChat Life is a licensed life insurance agency. Every policy comes with a free-look period, usually 10 to 30 days depending on your state, with a full refund.