Monday 12^th June marked the start of Diabetes Awareness Week, with Diabetes UK recently announcing that the estimated number of people living with diabetes in the UK has for the first time surpassed 5 million. 90% of these people are living with type 2 diabetes with a further 2.4 million at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which is becoming more and more common for people under 40 years old.

As part of insurance applications through UnderwriteMe’s Protection Platform, we see disclosures on a number of medical conditions. So far in 2023, 2.9% of our customers disclosed type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and from this, 65% of those were offered at least 1 buy now decision from our panel of 8 insurers.

This means a high percentage of customers, with diabetes, are offered the valuable life insurance cover they need through our Protection Platform, which provides “Buy now” prices from up to 8 of our partner insurers.

We also see around 25% of our customers with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 30 or higher, which is cited as the main cause of type 2 diabetes.

Here are some tips to help prevent type 2 diabetes:

• Physically active
• Stay within your recommended BMI
• Eat healthy foods
• Don’t smoke

You can find more information here ➡️ https://www.diabetes.org.uk/

At UnderwriteMe, we are always looking at ways to support the community, and as part of our Environmental Social Governance programme, we started working with Hypo Hounds. Hypo Hounds is a diabetic alert assistance dog charity that train dogs to detect and alert to the dangerous changes to their Type 1 Diabetic owner’s blood sugars. Hypo Hounds services are focused on children, enabling them to gain independence and freedom. By alerting their owners or their families to these changes in blood sugars, Hypo Hounds can help to prevent potentially life-threatening hypoglycaemic attacks.

Visit Hypo Hounds to find out more ➡️ https://hypohounds.co.uk/