Diabetic Life Insurance for Truck Drivers
Yes, truck drivers with diabetes can usually get life insurance. Well controlled type 2 diabetes often gets standard or close to standard rates, and drivers on insulin or with type 1 can still get covered, usually at a higher price. What matters most is your A1C, how long you have had diabetes, whether you take pills or insulin, and whether you have complications. Comparing carriers matters a lot here, because each one draws these lines differently.
Want a straight answer for your situation? A licensed agent can check your options in a few minutes.
How carriers look at diabetes
| Your situation | What it usually means for life insurance |
|---|---|
| Type 2, diet or pills, steady A1C, no complications | Often standard or close to standard rates. |
| Type 2 on insulin, good control | Coverage with many carriers, usually a step or two above standard price. |
| Type 1, good control, no complications | Coverage with some carriers. Age at diagnosis matters a lot. |
| High A1C or recent big swings | A higher price or a wait until it is steadier. |
| Kidney, eye, nerve or heart complications | Harder. Some carriers still offer coverage, others say no. |
| Diabetes plus high blood pressure, heavy weight or smoking | The combination matters more than any one of them. |
Diabetes and your CDL
- Diet or pills. There is no special federal form. The medical examiner decides your card length based on how well your diabetes is controlled.
- Insulin. Under 49 CFR 391.46, your treating clinician completes the Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus Assessment Form, MCSA-5870. You must see the DOT medical examiner within 45 days after it is signed, and at least once a year.
- Severe low blood sugar. An episode that needs someone else's help, or causes passing out, a seizure or a coma, stops you from driving until your clinician clears you and fills out a new MCSA-5870.
The glucose logs and A1C results you keep for your DOT exam are the same records that help you with a life insurance carrier.
What to have ready before you apply
- Your last two or three A1C results and the dates.
- The year you were diagnosed and whether it is type 1 or type 2.
- Every diabetes medication and dose, including insulin.
- Any complications your doctor has noted, such as kidney, eye or nerve issues.
- Your blood pressure and weight. Carriers look at them together with diabetes. See our high blood pressure guide for truckers.
Coverage options for drivers with diabetes
- Term life covers a set number of years at the lowest price. Best for drivers with good control and a family or mortgage to protect.
- Whole life lasts for life with a fixed premium. Smaller policies are often used for final expenses.
- Policies with no medical exam use your health answers and prescription history. Whether you qualify depends on your health answers.
- Guaranteed issue whole life skips the health questions. It usually has a waiting period of about 2 years before the full benefit pays for death from illness, and lower coverage amounts. It is the last option, not the first.
For how much coverage to think about, see our life insurance guide for truck drivers. For the rest of what a CDL holder should know, see CDL life insurance.
About Trucker Advocate
Trucker Advocate is a brand of NORTH LIFE GROUP LLC, a licensed insurance agency in North Miami Beach, Florida. Our agents work with company drivers and owner operators and compare life insurance from multiple carriers. We are paid a commission by the insurance company that issues your policy. You do not pay us a fee. This page is general information, not medical advice. You can confirm an agent's license through the Florida Department of Financial Services licensee search or the NIPR license lookup.
Talk to a licensed agent who works with drivers
Call or text from the road. We compare carriers for you and tell you plainly what you qualify for. Final approval and price depend on your health answers.
Questions drivers ask
Can a truck driver with diabetes get life insurance?
Yes. Many carriers offer coverage to people with diabetes. Type 2 diabetes that is well controlled, with a steady A1C and no complications, often gets standard or close to standard rates. Type 1 and insulin use can still be covered, usually at a higher price.
What A1C do I need for life insurance?
It depends on the carrier and your age. Lower and steadier is better. Many carriers give their better offers to A1C results under about 7 to 8, and results much higher than that often mean a higher price or a wait.
Does taking insulin hurt my life insurance rate?
Usually it moves you to a higher price than pills alone, because carriers see it as a sign of more advanced diabetes. Good control on insulin with no complications still gets coverage with many carriers.
Can I drive a truck on insulin?
Yes. Since 2018 drivers with insulin treated diabetes can be certified without an exemption. Your treating clinician fills out form MCSA-5870, and you see the DOT medical examiner within 45 days, at least once a year.
Can I get life insurance with type 1 diabetes?
Yes, with many carriers. Age at diagnosis, A1C history and whether you have kidney, eye, nerve or heart complications matter most. Comparing carriers matters more for type 1 than almost any other condition.
What if I was turned down for life insurance because of diabetes?
Try other carriers first, because they draw the lines differently. If every fully underwritten carrier says no, guaranteed issue whole life is an option. It skips the health questions but usually has a waiting period of about 2 years before the full benefit pays for death from illness, and smaller coverage amounts.