Money matters
On prescription
People with Type 1 diabetes are exempt from prescription charges. Pick up an exemption form from your GP, chemist or social services office, if you don’t already have one.
Benefits
If you’re going to college or university there are Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) available that might be able to help you.
This doesn’t mean that people with diabetes regard themselves as disabled, it just means that they are protected under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. So you may be able to get extra money to pay for, say, a fridge to store your insulin while you are at university.
Students with diabetes won’t always get a DSA, but there’s no harm in applying. Contact the student welfare adviser who will tell you if you are eligible for any extra support. Take advantage of any funding that is available - it’s better than stacking up your debt and spending the next decade trying to pay it off.
Getting insurance
Your possessions are probably covered by your parents’ household insurance. When you leave home, though, you might want to get your own. Having diabetes won’t affect your home insurance in any way, but Diabetes UK Insurance Services has a home insurance deal (as well as other types of insurance deal) with Heath Lambert Group, which supports people with diabetes. Diabetes UK receives a donation for each policy sold, at no extra cost to you.
For more information on this and any other type of insurance call 0800 731 7431.