Advice on Life insurance for diabetes

[jalapino]

Evening world......im looking for life insurance as me and the misses are going to get a mortgage to move, but because now i have the big d some companys will not let us get a mortage without life insurance...any idea's??
Many thanks 🙂

 

[Northerner]

I seem to remember people have had difficulties with this in the past Ant, have you had any quotes yet?

 

[jalapino]

I seem to remember people have had difficulties with this in the past Ant, have you had any quotes yet?

This is the problem, i thought i would ask if anyone has had any luck or could point me in the right direction as this is all new to me and the wife, basically we live with my misses mum and dad on an annexe on the side of there house, a very big annexe but now we can afford to move, but since being diagnosed with d i have been told that it will be hard for me to get a mortgage without life insurance....to your question alan no quotes as yet as only today we decided that we can now move 🙂

 

[Pigeon]

This thread http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=18624&highlight=life+insurance has a few suggestions.

Never got it myself as I've never owned a house, yet. But I think it is very important - a friend was a stay at home mum and her husband died out of the blue, a year after they bought a house. She would have been in dire straits without the life assurance, which paid off the whole mortgage and gives her a monthly income too. It was obviously still a desperately sad situation, but at least they weren't left homeless because of it.

 

[jalapino]

This thread http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=18624&highlight=life+insurance has a few suggestions.

Never got it myself as I've never owned a house, yet. But I think it is very important - a friend was a stay at home mum and her husband died out of the blue, a year after they bought a house. She would have been in dire straits without the life assurance, which paid off the whole mortgage and gives her a monthly income too. It was obviously still a desperately sad situation, but at least they weren't left homeless because of it.

I agree...god forbid something happen to me but the bleak reality is that it can happen..i have a wife and 2 young kids, for that reason alone i should and will get life insurance, without it we will not be able to get a house 🙂

 

[cherrypie]

Read through these links Jalapino. It tells you how you are assessed for life cover if you have diabetes.

http://www.lifeinsure.co.uk/the-7-important-factors-of-a-diabetics-insurance-rating/
http://www.lifeinsure.co.uk/the-7-important-factors-of-a-diabetics-insurance-rating-part-2/

 

[jalapino]

Read through these links Jalapino. It tells you how you are assessed for life cover if you have diabetes.

http://www.lifeinsure.co.uk/the-7-important-factors-of-a-diabetics-insurance-rating/
http://www.lifeinsure.co.uk/the-7-important-factors-of-a-diabetics-insurance-rating-part-2/

Many thanks 🙂

 

[MaryPlain]

I tried the Diabetes UK insurance service and they tried to get me quotes with two companies which both refused to insure me because of my diabetes!

After that I went through the Insurance Surgery, who were very helpful, and I got a reasonable deal through Friends Provident initially, but then when my husband had stopped smoking for a year they got us a better deal with Zurich (saved us about ?30 a month on top of the money he saved on ciggies!).

 

[redrevis]

I absolutely love this quote from the Lifeinsure links above:

HbA1c levels should be under 6.5% if possible. For the best quotes, a HbA1c reading of 6.5% or under is desirable. ...try to ensure that your A1C is as low as possible...

Yet my HCP's give me grief and tell me to run my levels higher because my HbA1c has always been under 6.5%. Go figure 🙄

 

[Mark T]

I absolutely love this quote from the Lifeinsure links above:


Yet my HCP's give me grief and tell me to run my levels higher because my HbA1c has always been under 6.5%. Go figure 🙄

My father gets the same grief, his start moaning at him the second he drops into the 6's.

 

[Northerner]

My father gets the same grief, his start moaning at him the second he drops into the 6's.

If you're well-controlled I don't see any problems with being lower than 6.5% - after all, it is the level at which complications are more likely to kick in. My HbA1c has been in the 5s practically since I was diagnosed.

 

[Mark T]

If you're well-controlled I don't see any problems with being lower than 6.5% - after all, it is the level at which complications are more likely to kick in. My HbA1c has been in the 5s practically since I was diagnosed.

Ah well, there might be the issue.

He turned up at an appointment and was spot tested with a BG of less then 5 having driven to the appointment. However, rather then try to educate him about why that might not be a good thing they proceeded to give him earache.

They don't push the idea of testing after-meals either, although he is on basal/bolus regime.

 

[Copepod]

Although the desirable range of figures are similar, a spot check on blood glucose (or fasting or post meal, but should always state which of these) is measured in mmol/l and measures different features to the longer term (8 - 12 weeks "average") HbA1c - old DCCT units were expressed as %; new IFCC units are mmol/mol, which give much larger numbers.

 

[redrevis]

If you're well-controlled I don't see any problems with being lower than 6.5% - after all, it is the level at which complications are more likely to kick in. My HbA1c has been in the 5s practically since I was diagnosed.

This is the thing that #*?!*s me off, the fact that they treat you like a number in their statistics sheet rather than a human being. Why don't they treat us as individuals and listen to what we tell them. They seem to be blinded by the 'rule book' and won't look past that.

In my last 6 monthly check up a week or so ago I saw a new nurse who had started at the hospital. Because of this I had to explain everything from scratch even though she had my notes as that's 'procedure'. Fair enough I guess as I've never seen her before. She asked how much insulin I was taking and what my ratios were. I told her my ratios had been changing a lot of the past few months so I expected my HbA1c to be a bit higher as my levels haven't been as consistent. She replied with "So how did you come to be using these ratios? Who tells you what to change them to?" I explained I've been sorting my own ratios out since learning to carb count pretty much straight after diagnosis. She had a look of shock on her face and said, "Well I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. You shouldn't be changing your own ratios, only your consultant should do that." I could not believe the words she was saying. Did she honestly believe that I should be contacting my consultant everytime I changed my insulin to carb ratio!!! I explained that it's me who is in control of my diabetes and I know enough to manage everything myself. She kept rambling on about how that isn't how things work and I shouldn't be doing it, in the end I just said "Look, speak to my regular DNP and ask her if you don't believe I can manage my own diabetes." To which she said she would do. She also kindly told me that my HbA1c was too low and that I should run my levels higher to increase my HbA1c. I told her in no uncertain terms that I would not be following that advice as I do not have a lot of hypos and I have great hypo awareness, so I would stick to what I am currently doing. At the end of the meeting she ended it by saying in a very patronising voice, "Well I'm going to let you continue to manage your own ratios as you seem to know what you're talking about." LET ME, YOU'RE GOING TO LET ME!!!! I felt like telling her where to stick her patronising comments and that I'd be managing my diabetes myself no matter what c**p she comes out with. Of course I didn't do that, I stayed calm and politely nodded and walked out of the office.

I've never had such a pointless and annoying 6 monthly check up since being diagnosed 2 and a bit years ago. I really really hope I don't get her next time 🙄

I appear to have written an essay. I apologise for boring you all and for being slightly off topic 😛

 

[MaryPlain]

This is the thing that #*?!*s me off, the fact that they treat you like a number in their statistics sheet rather than a human being. Why don't they treat us as individuals and listen to what we tell them. They seem to be blinded by the 'rule book' and won't look past that.

In my last 6 monthly check up a week or so ago I saw a new nurse who had started at the hospital. Because of this I had to explain everything from scratch even though she had my notes as that's 'procedure'. Fair enough I guess as I've never seen her before. She asked how much insulin I was taking and what my ratios were. I told her my ratios had been changing a lot of the past few months so I expected my HbA1c to be a bit higher as my levels haven't been as consistent. She replied with "So how did you come to be using these ratios? Who tells you what to change them to?" I explained I'v been sorting my own ratios out since learning to carb count pretty much straight after diagnosis. She had a look of shock on her face and said, "Well I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. You shouldn't be changing your own ratios, only your consultant should do that." I could not believe the words she was saying. Did she honestly believe that I should be contacting my consultant everytime I changed my insulin to carb ratio!!! I explained that it me who is in control of my diabetes and I know enough to manage everything myself. She kept rambling on about how that isn't how things work and I shouldn't be doing it, in the end I just said "Look, speak to my regular DNP and ask her if you don't believe I can manage my own diabetes." To which she said she would do. She also kindly told me that my HbA1c was too ow and that I should run my levels higher to increase my HbA1c. I told her in no uncertain terms that I would not be following that advice as I do not have a lot of hypos and I have great hypo awareness, so I would stick to what I am currently doing. At the end of the meeting she ended it by saying in a very patronising voice, "Well I'm going to let you continue to manage your own ratios as you seem to know what you're talking about." LET ME, YOU'RE GOING TO LET ME!!!! I felt like telling her where to stick her patronising comments and that I'd be managing my diabetes myself no matter what c**p she comes out with. Of course I didn't do that, I stayed calm and politely nodded and walked out of the office.

I've never had such a pointless and annoying 6 monthly check up since being diagnosed 2 and a bit years ago. I really really hope I don't get her next time 🙄

I appear to have written an essay. I apologise for boring you all and for being slightly off topic 😛

Don't apologise, it was well-written and I enjoyed hearing it - I think I might have written a letter of complaint about it if I had been treated like this, otherwise she's just going to keep doing it!