Everything You Need To Know About Getting Life Insurance For Elders
This post was last updated on January 21st, 2021
Even though most people see the end of life as a celebration, sharing memories and stories, many people will be faced with wondering how to pay for the cost of those ceremonies.
Life insurance is used to help your family and friends avoid having to look around for the money to cover the costs of your end-of-life celebration. If you’re a senior citizen that does not currently have life insurance, getting a quality policy can be tricky to do.
Independent life insurance agents are available to help you overcome some of the hurdles that stand in your way, but getting a quality policy is not impossible to do.
What Options Do Senior Citizens Have?
For senior citizens, life insurance policies will typically be limited to term life. These types of policies are mainly designed to help cover expenses that are going to happen at the end of your life. If you do not have enough life insurance when that time comes, your family and friends could be faced with bearing that burden themselves.
Smaller policies, that range from $5,000 to $25,000 in coverage, are available to help you cover the costs of your burial and leave a little extra for your family members. You can get these amounts in both term and whole life, though whole life will be more expensive. You need to understand all your options before choosing the right coverage when you’re old.
What’s The Difference Between Senior and Whole Life?
A whole life policy is usually purchased at a younger age and kept for your entire life. That’s where the term “whole” comes in. Term life insurance, though, is available for a term as long as you are paying the premiums.
At the time of your death, the premiums will cease to exist and your life insurance company will pay the benefit to your beneficiaries.
The biggest area you should focus on, as a senior citizen, is ensuring that the cost of your burial is being covered by your policy. Funerals cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, so having a policy that is larger in value will let you leave a little extra for your family.
Depending on what you see happening when you pass, a larger policy may be necessary. For instance, if you are leaving behind an estate, your family could be required to pay probate and taxes on that estate. Your life insurance policy will help cover those expenses.
How Do I Qualify For A Policy For Seniors?
Before you can make the decision and select the best life insurance policy for yourself, you need to stop and think about what you’re going to use it for.
Most senior citizens have already paid their home off and no longer have student loan debt so these typically aren’t concerns that need to be addressed. However, if you have carried life insurance from a past job and want to replace it as you move into retirement, a senior policy can help you keep your coverage active.
Before you start shopping for policies you will want to think about the expenses that your policy will need to cover. After you understand those expenses, choosing the right policy becomes significantly easier to do.
What If I Have Existing Health Issues?
Even if you have existing health conditions you can still find quality life insurance. Unlike whole life insurance, you do not have to go through a series of medical exams before you can be given a policy.
With term life insurance, the company will ask you basic health questions. They want to know your weight, your age, whether you smoke, and how much coverage you see yourself needing to carry.
You want to be honest and truthful with them while you’re answering. If you are found to be dishonest the insurance company can deny your claims and refuse to return your premiums.
How Much Does A Senior Policy Cost?
The cost of your policy depends on your age and the amount of coverage that you are trying to receive. Many policies start around $10 per month if you are younger and want a smaller amount of coverage.
For example, a $250,000 policy for a 60-year old female can range from $32 to $73 per month. For males, this same policy will range from $41 to $110 per month. That’s a wide range and pertains to healthy seniors that do not smoke.
Depending on what you are looking for and the amount of coverage you require, a senior citizen life insurance policy can be incredibly affordable. Remember to be honest as you’re answering questions to avoid having your claims denied down the road.
Making sure that your debt and the cost of funeral expenses are covered during your celebration of life is critical. For the low cost of most policies, not having life insurance could be a major mistake that you leave behind for your family members to deal with.
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