What affects life insurance costs with diabetes?
With diabetes, a life insurer usually adds a loading, which is a percentage on top of the standard premium. The only NZ insurer position we found published is Chubb Life's: Type 1 diabetes is most commonly offered life cover only, with a loading of at least 100%, and a Type 2 diagnosis made around age 60 that is well controlled may carry 50 to 75%. Other insurers publish no figures, and your own terms come from underwriting.
In short
- A loading is a percentage added to the standard premium. It is one of three responses Asteron describes for an existing condition, alongside a stand-down period and an exclusion (Asteron).
- Chubb Life lists what drives the size: type of diabetes, age at diagnosis, how long you have had it, control shown by HbA1c results, complications, blood pressure, cholesterol and kidney function (Chubb Life).
- Momentum's Quick Life asks no health questions, so it adds no diabetes loading. In its first 2 years it excludes death from a pre-existing condition, and its wording names complications related to diabetes.
- Nobody can tell you your loading before underwriting. A figure on this page is a published example, not a quote.
What a loading is
A loading is an extra percentage on the standard rate. A 100% loading doubles the standard premium; a 50% loading adds half. Insurers can also respond to an existing condition by adding a stand-down period or excluding the condition permanently or for a set time, and Asteron says it can usually still offer cover that way (Asteron). Which response you get depends on the insurer and on you.
What Chubb Life publishes
Chubb Life's underwriting article for advisers is the only public statement with loading figures that we found. The other insurers' guidance did not give them, so this is one insurer's position, not a market range.
| Situation | What Chubb Life says |
|---|---|
| Type 1 diabetes | Most commonly offered life cover only, with a loading of "at least 100%". Other benefits are the exception, for example when diagnosed at 40 or over, well controlled and without complications. |
| Type 2 diabetes | Terms depend on control, age at diagnosis and duration. A younger diagnosis means a higher loading. |
| Type 2, diagnosed later | Someone diagnosed at about 60, with good control and no complications, "may have a loading of 50-75%". |
| Recent Type 2 diagnosis | Cover is often deferred for 12 months to assess understanding, compliance and blood sugar control. |
| Pre-diabetes | Terms rest on current and past HbA1c results. If results suggest diabetes is possible but it is not diagnosed, cover will likely be deferred until investigated. |
| Gestational diabetes | Medical records are needed. Standard life terms are possible once they show good control or full recovery. |
Chubb adds that BMI, smoking status, cholesterol, liver function, blood pressure and other conditions also affect terms, and that GP medical records are usually required. It recommends a pre-assessment conversation with an underwriter for anyone with diabetes. Fidelity Life says a pre-assessment is not an offer of cover and not a binding final assessment (Fidelity Life underwriting guide).
What a loading does to a premium: an illustration
QuoteHub's Premium Index prices standard rates only, without loadings. For $500,000 of stepped life cover at age 50, non-smoker, class 1 occupation, the range across the six insurers priced on 8 September 2026 was $90 to $120 monthly for a man and $80 to $100 for a woman (Premium Index; method on the methodology page).
The table applies percentages to those ranges. It is arithmetic on the Index, rounded to the nearest dollar. It is not an insurer's offer, and it does not say what loading you would be given at 50.
| Loading | Man, $500,000, age 50 (monthly) | Woman, $500,000, age 50 (monthly) |
|---|---|---|
| None (standard) | $90 to $120 | $80 to $100 |
| 50% | $135 to $180 | $120 to $150 |
| 75% | $158 to $210 | $140 to $175 |
| 100% | $180 to $240 | $160 to $200 |
These are stepped premiums, so they rise each year with age, and a loaded premium rises from a higher base. We do not publish a 10-year total because we have no sourced step rates.
A fully underwritten policy and Quick Life, side by side
The two routes treat diabetes differently. The first prices it; the second does not ask about it, and limits cover for the first 2 years instead.
| Fully underwritten, through an adviser | Momentum Quick Life | |
|---|---|---|
| Ages | Varies by insurer | 18 to 65 |
| Health questions | Yes; GP records usually required for diabetes | None |
| What diabetes does to the price | May add a loading, a deferral, an exclusion, or a decline | Nothing; the premium uses age, gender, smoking status and cover amount |
| Cover amount | Varies by insurer | $50,000 to $300,000, with 3% increases each anniversary to a $500,000 cap per life |
| Premium shape | Stepped or level, depending on the insurer | Stepped to age 75, then fixed |
| First 2 years | Terms as offered | Accidental death and new conditions are covered. Pre-existing conditions and suicide are excluded. |
| Diabetes-related death in that window | Depends on the terms offered | No benefit; premiums are refunded if death is from a pre-existing condition and no claim is payable |
| After 2 years | Terms as offered | Pre-existing conditions covered, except a few that can be permanently excluded in the policy schedule |
Quick Life's wording defines a pre-existing condition as illness, a condition or symptoms in the 2 years before cover starts, and says it includes "very high blood pressure, cholesterol over 7.0, a BMI over 40, or complications related to diabetes" (Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording, November 2025). Diabetes treated in the 2 years before the start appears to fit that definition, and Momentum decides at claim time. On that reading, a death from diabetes or a related complication in the first 2 years is not paid. The 2 years restart if you cancel and rejoin, so do not cancel other cover until the window has passed.
Which route costs less is a question only quotes answer. A healthy person can usually get more cover for less with fully underwritten cover through an adviser. For someone with diabetes we publish no comparison, because the underwritten price depends on a loading we cannot predict.
Why complete answers matter
Underwriters price what you tell them, and a loaded price assumes your answers are complete. IFSO reported a case in which the insurer applied 50% loadings retrospectively after a non-disclosure finding and paid a reduced stroke claim (IFSO). The Contracts of Insurance Act 2024 changes how misrepresentation is judged from 15 November 2027 (not yet in force). Until then, answer every question fully.
What may help the price
- Control and records. Chubb says terms rest on HbA1c results, now and historically. A stable history and a GP record that shows it give the underwriter less to guess.
- Not smoking. Staying nicotine-free for 12 months before applying would save about 33 to 57 percent monthly at most ages on the Index. See smoker premiums.
- More than one insurer. Chubb's position is one insurer's. Another may price the same person differently, and an adviser can approach several. QuoteHub cannot rank insurers for people with diabetes.
How we are paid
Advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a Momentum Life partner, and Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission if you buy through our link; see how we are paid and our disclosure. This page is general information, not advice. It has no form and collects nothing. Momentum Life Limited has an A.M. Best financial strength rating of B (Fair), affirmed 11 February 2026; read Momentum's financial strength page. The buttons on this page open Momentum's own application. Written by the QuoteHub Editorial Team and reviewed by the QuoteHub Adviser Team, 20 October 2026.
For the wider picture across life, income, health and trauma cover, read insurance with diabetes in NZ. For other conditions, see life insurance with pre-existing conditions, and what guaranteed acceptance is. To test product age limits, use the guaranteed acceptance hub.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get life insurance with Type 1 diabetes?
Chubb Life says it is most common to offer life cover only, with a loading of at least 100%, and other benefits only in rarer cases. Other insurers publish no position. Guaranteed acceptance asks no health questions, with the 2-year limit above.
What if I was diagnosed recently?
Chubb Life says a recent Type 2 diagnosis often means cover is deferred for 12 months. Pre-diabetes without a diagnosis may also be deferred until investigated.
Does Quick Life ask about diabetes?
No. Quick Life has no health questions. Its wording treats complications related to diabetes as a pre-existing condition, which is not paid if death results from it in the first 2 years.
References
- Chubb Life: Diving into diabetes, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Asteron Life: Insurance options for pre-existing conditions, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Fidelity Life: Underwriting guide (October 2025), retrieved 20 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording (November 2025), retrieved 17 October 2026
- Momentum Life: Financial strength, retrieved 20 October 2026
- IFSO: Non-disclosure case, retrieved 20 October 2026
- Financial Markets Authority: Contracts of Insurance Act 2024, retrieved 20 October 2026
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