Hi all,

My Dad is diabetic(insulin dependant) and I was quite shocked the other day when his renewall quote came through at over £300, he has been driving for 24 years and never made a claim and only drives a 1.6 whereas i drive a 1.9 and have been driving for 2 years, and my insurance is under £300

It took me an hour of shopping around to bring his insurance down by £135(and get myself 12 free car washes in the process:slayer

I then called his original insurance company( he had been with them for 11 yrs) and explained to them how much cheaper i could get it(the insurance) elsewhere, they wouldn't budge on the price they had quoted and just suggested removing the legal cover if cheaper premiums were required, as dad's medical condition was a massive risk to them!

how can there be such a marked difference between 2 companies, and one not be too perturbed by a medical condition, and the other think it is a massive risk?

anyone else had a similar experience?

I am type 1 diabetic just like your dad

Essentially you are a big risk, if you are in poor control of your diabetes you run the risk of having a 'hypo' behind the wheel, well i dread to think of the consequences on a busy road should that happen

The insurance companies cant monitor us 24/7 they dont know what we are like and what our lifestyles are like, one obviously feels not as confident insuring an individual for a lower price which is fair enough, like you have done people will leave for somewhere else, but other people will join up with them so they arent probably going to be loosing out

To be fair unless you have diabetes you dont know what a risk it can be if it all goes wrong especially behind what is essentially could be a weapon.

We are a risk and agree with their stance in a way but there is the other side of the coin though - what about those who are undiagnosed and are getting behind the wheel everyday

It's quite scary stuff how somebody Hypo can funcion seemingly normally. One of my Dads staff managed to drive some 30 miles or more to work and was an absolute state when he got there. He had no recollection of how he got there.
It seems every other week he has done something or another due to his diabeties. He has forgoten to pay for fuel in the company car. He wasn't driving but was sent in to pay and got a mars bar instead.

The sad thing is he drives a Clio 192. I don't see it's 100% fair when people who do stay on top of their condition can't afford to insure a car. I can't say much I have added to insurance statistics myself.

I have only ever known of my dad to go "hypo" once, he miscalculated the carb content on a packet of crisps and went all confused and thought i was a little 5 yr old and told me off for making him a cup of tea(with sugar which he loved!)

He was diagnosed with diabetes 13 yrs ago, after falling into a diabetic coma, he had been feeling unwell and forgetting thing/ blacking out for months before that, that like you said AppleSei was probably the most dangerous period of his diabetes.

In fairnes the new insurance company asked how many units of insulin he takes on average per day, I know that depends on what he eats, but none of the others did.

I told my insurance company and the DVLA about my recent surgery to remove a brain tumour and as it was the bottom of my skull and not the top, and after talking to my doctor/surgeon they weren't bothered, even tho the surgery has had a massive effect on my balance, but last year, my cousin collapsed due to low blood pressure/anemia and they banned her from driving for 12 months.

Volxstu, your dad's staff member sounds like a danger to a lot of people, for his sake, he needs help by the sounds of things. and it's diabetics like him giving the others a bad name Grrr!

thanks guys xx

I'm Type 2 Diabetic treated by two different kinds of Insulin and have been for 13 years. Despite being limited to a 3 year licence I've never had any trouble with car, or motorcycle insurance since diagnosis. My current insurance is for my Panda MJ and includes Driving Instructor cover, which is usually a 100% loading as it is considered as Class 1 Business Use.

The cost is £370 per year.

volxstu said:

It's quite scary stuff how somebody Hypo can funcion seemingly normally. One of my Dads staff managed to drive some 30 miles or more to work and was an absolute state when he got there. He had no recollection of how he got there.
It seems every other week he has done something or another due to his diabeties. He has forgoten to pay for fuel in the company car. He wasn't driving but was sent in to pay and got a mars bar instead.

The sad thing is he drives a Clio 192. I don't see it's 100% fair when people who do stay on top of their condition can't afford to insure a car. I can't say much I have added to insurance statistics myself.

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All he has to do is visit his Doctor and also ask to see a Dietician. It also might be worth him asking to see a Diabetic Specialist Nurse.

The sad thing is not that he drives a Clio 192, but that he is so careless of his condition that he's putting himself and others at risk, and yet the solution is so simple and doesn't cost anything.

Has he been diagnosed as Diabetic? If not, then maybe it could be pointed out that all his prescriptions are free, and I do mean ALL, not just those relating to diabetic medicines.

there are special insurers for diabetics.
my uncle is with one i forgo who it is

I presume he is diagnosed. He just obviously doesn't keep on top of it.