Life insurance with diabetes and high blood pressure
Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.
Insurers read diabetes and high blood pressure together because they are linked cardiovascular risk factors. Chubb Life says underwriters look at control, complications and risk factors including hypertension. Momentum's guaranteed-acceptance Quick Life, for ages 18 to 65, asks no health questions, but conditions like these are likely to fall inside its 2-year pre-existing exclusion. Funeral Insurance has no such clause.
This is a different question from the single-condition pages on diabetes and high blood pressure. The question here is what changes when an underwriter sees both on one file, and what guaranteed acceptance does with them. We state only what insurers publish. No insurer publishes a rating for the combination, so there is no table of loadings on this page, and anything that claims one is a guess.
What is published about diabetes
Chubb Life publishes adviser guidance on diabetes. It says underwriters ask for the type of diabetes, age at diagnosis and duration, control (best shown by HbA1c results), treatment compliance, complications, and cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension and high cholesterol, along with abnormal urine or kidney function (Chubb: Diving into diabetes). It says the longer a person has had diabetes, and the younger the age at diagnosis, the higher the loading, and gives examples:
- Type 1, for people diagnosed some time ago, is usually offered life cover only, with a loading of at least 100%. Other benefits are the exception.
- Type 2 depends on control, age at diagnosis and duration. Someone diagnosed at about 60, well controlled with no complications, "may have a loading of 50-75%".
- A recent Type 2 diagnosis often has cover deferred for 12 months.
That is one insurer's guidance on diabetes alone, not a market rule, and it says nothing about hypertension on top. It lists vascular disease as a diabetes complication, and hypertension as a cardiovascular risk factor the underwriter checks for.
What is published about blood pressure
No insurer we found publishes loadings for high blood pressure. What is published is that it appears as a risk factor. Partners Life's 2024 underwriting changes list diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia (high cholesterol), fatty liver and sleep apnoea among the risk factors that decide whether a build exam or blood tests can be skipped (RiskinfoNZ). Both of your conditions are on that list. Fidelity Life and Chubb Life both ask for more evidence, such as a GP medical and HbA1c, lipid and liver tests, for cover above $500,000 at ages 61 and over, and Fidelity's higher codes add an exercise ECG or calcium score. These are minimums, and disclosed conditions trigger more (Chubb underwriting guide, Fidelity Life underwriting guide).
What an underwriter will want to see from you
Put your own records in one place. Readings your GP holds are the facts an application depends on:
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Diabetes type, date diagnosed, treatment | Duration and age at diagnosis affect loadings (Chubb) |
| Recent HbA1c results | Shows control (Chubb) |
| Blood pressure readings and medication | A cardiovascular risk factor (Chubb, Partners Life) |
| Cholesterol, kidney function, urine results | Checked alongside diabetes (Chubb) |
| Any complications: eye, nerve, kidney, vascular | Listed as a diabetes complication (Chubb) |
| Smoking status and build (BMI) | Both feed price and testing |
Answer in full. IFSO case notes show insurers avoiding or reducing claims for non-disclosure (IFSO).
How the two guaranteed-acceptance products treat both
Quick Life asks no health questions and takes ages 18 to 65, for $50,000 to $300,000 to start. In its first two years it does not pay for death or terminal illness related to a pre-existing medical condition. The wording defines that as any illness, condition or symptoms in the 2 years before the policy started, including anything you had treatment or advice for. It also names some specific markers: "very high blood pressure, cholesterol over 7.0, a BMI over 40, or complications related to diabetes" (Momentum Life: Quick Life policy wording, November 2025). The markers are additions to the main definition, not a limit on it, so a condition you have had treatment or advice for is, on the wording, likely to be within it. If death from a pre-existing condition happens in the first 24 months and no claim is payable, premiums are refunded.
Funeral Insurance has no pre-existing clause, takes ages 40 to 75 and pays $3,000 to $30,000. In the first 24 months it pays only for accidental death within 90 days of the accident; any other cause pays nothing and premiums are refunded (Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance policy wording, 17 August 2023).
| Cause of death in month 10 | Quick Life | Funeral Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Heart attack in someone with both conditions | Likely treated as related to a pre-existing condition; no benefit, premiums refunded | No benefit (not an accident); premiums refunded |
| Car accident | Covered (accidental death) | Pays three times the benefit if death is within 90 days of the accident |
| Unrelated new illness | Covered | No benefit; premiums refunded |
Momentum decides each claim on its facts, so read the first row as the careful assumption, not a certainty. After two years Quick Life covers pre-existing conditions except any listed as permanent exclusions in the schedule, and Funeral Insurance pays on any cause. Quick Life premiums are stepped, and for both products the total premiums can exceed the benefit; the funeral benefit may not meet the whole funeral cost.
Choosing a route
If your diabetes is controlled and you want a mortgage-sized amount, cover with health questions is the route to price first. An adviser can approach several insurers, and a healthy applicant can usually get more cover for less that way. If you have been declined or postponed, see life insurance after a decline. If you want something in place now and can accept the early period, compare Quick Life and Funeral Cover. The general rules are in pre-existing conditions, and for diabetes costs see cost with diabetes.
Momentum Life's A.M. Best rating is B (Fair), in what Momentum's financial strength page calls the "Vulnerable" range. 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 the buttons on this page; see how we are paid. Start from the guaranteed acceptance hub.
Adviser's view
Two conditions are read together, not one after the other, so single-condition advice can mislead. Cover with health questions is the route to price first if you want a larger amount and your control is good, but it is the insurer's decision. Guaranteed acceptance takes an application without asking, and conditions you are treated for are likely to fall inside its two-year pre-existing exclusion, so it may not pay for a related death early on.
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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Life Insurance: Diabetes and High Blood Pressure NZ. www.quotehub.co.nz/guaranteed-acceptance/life-insurance-with-diabetes-and-high-blood-pressure-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.
References
- Chubb: Underwriting uncovered, Diving into diabetes
- Fidelity Life: Underwriting guide (October 2025)
- Chubb: Essential underwriting guide (May 2025)
- RiskinfoNZ: Partners Life underwriting enhancements (17 October 2024)
- Momentum Life: Quick Life Insurance Policy Wording (November 2025)
- Momentum Life: Funeral Insurance Policy Wording (17 August 2023)
- Momentum Life: Financial strength
- IFSO: Non-disclosure case
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