Eat fish… live longer.  Another plug for longevity.

Couldn’t resist taking this photo… seen on Remuera Road, Auckland… 

Good on yer Fishmonger, a godsend for life insurers the world over! 

November 18 to 24 is Diabetes NZ Awareness & Appeal Week. 

So what’s the link between diabetes and life insurance you may well ask? Well… plenty!  

Anyone who is unfortunate enough to have diabetes that’s tried to get life cover would know that it’s neigh on impossible to get. It is not just that the risks are high for insuring someone with diabetes, but it is almost impossible to calculate the mortality risk of someone who has diabetes.  

Translating this into plain English… insurers can’t offer a price for life cover because they can’t predict how the disease is likely to affect the sufferer’s lifespan. All they know is that in all probability, a person suffering diabetes is likely to die earlier than the average of the population… not necessarily from the disease itself, but from a range of complications and side effects that can be fatal… such as heart problems and neuromuscular problems.  

Diabetes is the result of the body not creating enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels in the normal range. It cannot presently be cured but it can be controlled and you can lead a full and active life.  

There are three types of diabetes which you can read more about on Diabetes NZ website.

Reported in The NZ Herald today – Life expectancy of New Zealanders is continuing to rise, according to just-released New Zealand statistics.

But Maori longevity remains lower than non-Maori. 

Here are some stats hot off the press…

• 82.2 years – expected longevity of a newborn NZ girl
• 78.0 years – expected longevity of a newborn NZ boy
• 1 year – the increase in female longevity from 2002 to 2007
• 1.7 years – the increase in male longevity from 2002 to 2007 (he he, finally the boys are catching up!) 
• 75.1 years – expected longevity of a newborn Maori girl
• 70.4 years – expected longevity of a newborn Maori boy
• 1.6 times – this is how much more likely a Maori baby is to die in their first year of life, than a non-Maori

And the good news… the Maori longevity gap is closing.

• 8.5 years – the longevity gap between Maori and non-Maori in 2002
• 8.2 years – the longevity gap between Maori and non-Maori in 2007