In a non-diabetic, as soon as food touches the lips virtually, there is a phase one insulin response. This is a surge of insulin, thought to be stored insulin from the previous production cycle. This stops the peak going very high at all. The phase 2 response, which is insulin manufactured on the hoof, brings it down to normal.
With a T2, the first response to go is thought to be the phase one response. We thus get a high peak, and our manufactured insulin thus has more work to do to bring it down so it takes longer. Also, there is therefore no insulin left over to be stored for the next phase one response - vicious cycle!
I've tested, and my one hour reading (my peak with most meals) is up to 40% higher than my two hour reading. We test at two hours though as it gives us a standard for comparison, and we never quite catch peaks anyway, (bit like the stock market!), so instead we check to see if we're back to acceptable levels at two hours.