Discrimination of Type 1 Diabetics by insurance companies - please sign and distribute!

what discrimination are you talking about?

Engineer88 said:

what discrimination are you talking about?

Click to expand...

Ian is referring to the loaded premiums that we pay for having life and critical insurance cover, unfortunately they don't take into consideration individual cases and is base on the information that they have to hand, which is a shame but I can't see things changing any-time soon, despite Ian's best intentions.

It is just the same for other illnesses. I had breast cancer. After having the tumour removed in its entirety, and 12 months of being poisoned to ensure no bits were left behind, I am officially in remission or "cured". There is a small possibility it may return somewhere in my body in the form of secondaries at some point in the future. My travel insurance premiums are now heavily loaded. Travel insurance loading for a disease that isn't there? That if it does come back it won't require emergency treatment and can wait till I get home? So unfair, but as with diabetes, it is one size fits all, no account taken of individual circumstances.

I'd say individual circumstances do get taken into account; like when you've been hospitalised due to your pump cannula malfunctioning and they refuse to quote at all.....

Oh well... wait til the 12 months are up and I can get back to receiving quotes on the standard heavily-loaded premiums.

Problem is, diabetics as a group are more likely to suffer complications/problems that will then cause the insurance companies to pay out critical illness / life cover... so obviously, we're going to have to pay higher premiums. Unless they start assessing diabetics on their control of the condition.

Bluetit1802 said:

It is just the same for other illnesses. I had breast cancer. After having the tumour removed in its entirety, and 12 months of being poisoned to ensure no bits were left behind, I am officially in remission or "cured". There is a small possibility it may return somewhere in my body in the form of secondaries at some point in the future. My travel insurance premiums are now heavily loaded. Travel insurance loading for a disease that isn't there? That if it does come back it won't require emergency treatment and can wait till I get home? So unfair, but as with diabetes, it is one size fits all, no account taken of individual circumstances.

Click to expand...

By what you've said Bluetit the answer would appear to be yes..........unfortunately.

The insurance companies are like any other company, they are in the business to make money and will try wherever possible to try and get out of paying out on policies or load them heavily when there is a risk element, I got a mortgage protection policy years ago and it cost me nearly 3 times what it would have cost had I not have diabetes.

Pleased that you came through your cancer, that must have been such an awful time for you and your family.

noblehead said:

Pleased that you came through your cancer, that must have been such an awful time for you and your family.

Click to expand...

Thank you. Double whammy - I was diagnosed with type 2 just 4 days after my all clear (so far) from my cancer, just as I was celebrating and looking forward to a year of no medical appointments.

Thank you. I wish your sister all the best and hope she recovers as well as I have.

Bluetit1802 said:

Thank you. Double whammy - I was diagnosed with type 2 just 4 days after my all clear (so far) from my cancer, just as I was celebrating and looking forward to a year of no medical appointments.

Click to expand...

Your T2 shouldn't be an issue; if you aren't on insulin and/or a real drug cocktail. Many people, including myself have had travel cover - including long trip, annual insurance in my case - without any loading whatsoever. It's just critical to disclose the fact.

ianjones73 said:

When I was first diagnosed with T1 I had a life policy with Barclays, which included critical illness. Ignorant to the possible long term effects of diabetes (at the time), I was shocked when Barclays then decided to go through my application with a toothcomb. Despite the fact that the application was completed with the guidance of one of their FAs, they 'discovered' a reason (something they say I hadn't declared to cancel the policy. Even the ombudsman upheld their decision. I now believe that this was deliberately done to find a reason not to cover me.

Click to expand...

Ian - I have commented on issues such as yours from an informed, professional standpoint in the past. The unfortunate hard fact is that the sort of term of cover your are alluding to here, is that many diabetics will suffer some for of impairment in the next 25 or 30 years, and sadly, not everyone manages their diabetes well. That you might be meticulous right now doesn't mean you will continue in that vein. How many people do we read of who go through a difficult period and lose control of their condition, for a while at least.

Actuarially, for T1s there is an increased risk of dying earlier than their peers, and a greater risk of them suffering impared health during the term of their policy (in you instance, I'm guessing 25 or 30 years?).

I'm assuming Barclays went through your application at the point of underwriting, or had cover started? It's unusual to go back to an application once cover has started. But, there are exceptions to every rule, as usual. Did you ask their reason?

ianjones73 said:

Hi AndBreathe - thanks for your comments. I am 41. At the time I took the policy out I was early 20s and did not have diabetes. It came to light when, because of initial problems with insulin, I had a period off of work and sought to claim on the premium repayment insurance. Their reason was that I had not disclosed a previous bout of depression. I refuted this as I sat in my living room with their advisor and went through everything.

Whilst I agree that control can vary during one' life, why can't it be reassessed perhaps every three years, much like your driving license.

Click to expand...

Ah. A non-disclosure; albeit it sounds like it was inadvertent. As you sign the declaration, it wouldn't matter (as you now know) what conversations you had.

There are policies out there where premiums are reviewed periodically, but I don't know of any company which would continually re-underwrite. Aside from the admin burden, it is expensive to collect medical reports from doctors etc.

I can absolutely appreciate how frustrating it must be to be in your situation, but the life houses are businesses who need to make profits. The average term of a mortgage related insurance policy is only a few years, then they are usually replaced for better cover, more cover or a whole host of other reasons, and it takes quite some time for any policy to become profitable for the provider. From memory (as I'm no so close to these organisations), it's something like 27 months premiums, on average before a life house makes a penny. All earlier premiums are swallowed up in covering underwriting and other set-up costs. By their virtue it means that for young people, usually paying lower premiums, many policies never make money and the policies are only really commercially attractive to the insurers when attempting to build brand loyalty.

It's complicated, and unfortunately there are winners and losers in every scenario.

Bluetit1802 said:

Thank you. Double whammy - I was diagnosed with type 2 just 4 days after my all clear (so far) from my cancer, just as I was celebrating and looking forward to a year of no medical appointments.

Click to expand...

That really sucks