Life Insurance For Seniors
What’s the right plan for me?
Understanding the reason for life insurance can help you to determine the exact type of life insurance policy that you’re seeking and match it to the right policy for your specific needs.
There are a lot of different kinds of life insurance for seniors on the market today, some of these are going to better suit your needs than others. Typically speaking, there are 3 basic kinds of life insurance to choose from for seniors. Not all policies are created equal and you’re going to have to sort through the various options before you make your decision. At that point, you can further discuss these options with your senior life insurance company agent you can help you make your final decision. If you’re interested in learning more we’ve broken it down for you:
Guaranteed Universal Life
Survivorship Life
Guaranteed Acceptance Life
While all of these have something in common, they’re all permanent life insurance policies. As long as you pay your premium, the policy will stay in effect until the day that you die. However, each policy has specific terms that apply and make it suitable for different reasons.
If you’d like to speak to an agent at any time to answer questions about life insurance, medicare, or to assist you with an application, you can call us toll free at: 1 (800) 717-2183
Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance
In this policy, you can qualify based on your health and your age. In a guaranteed universal policy, you will have permanent coverage for a low premium. This policy will meet the needs and benefits of a wide range of persons.
Similar to a whole life policy, universal life policies are made very affordable. They will gain cash value the first few years and that can be used to help offset the increase in the rising amount of premiums down the line. whole life policies will continue to gain their cash value as the year’s pass.
One important distinction is that when you’re purchasing a Guaranteed Universal Life, you want to be certain about what those guarantees are. You can buy these from a variety of providers, however, they’re not all the same. You want to consider what the interest rates are and the other potential risks that can affect your policy.
Guaranteed Universal Life policies are excellent for several reasons:
Flexible Premium: Many policies offer flexible payments on premiums. If you’re late, you won’t’ lose your coverage.
Flexible Benefits: Many policies will let you shift the guarantee. Your coverage can be identical when your 50, or when you’re 90. This can go up to the age of 121. Of course, the longer you want the guarantee, the higher your premium is going to be.
Flexible Growth: This will be dependent on the kind of GUL policy that you select. You may want to aggressively grow your cash value, or you may wish to limit how you can use it.
If you’re seeking coverage for the rest of your life, you’ll want to know you can always afford it and that you’re healthy enough to afford it.
With Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance, you’ll find that it will meet your needs and any other requirements.
Survivorship life insurance
Survivorship life insurance policies are very effective. They are ideal for financial planning and for those who wish to give a part of their estate to someone specific.
A survivorship policy is a coverage that is permanent. It pays when the policy holders have both passed on. This gives a lower level of risk from the carrier. They will pay out sooner than anticipated and thus it’s a lower risk policy.
However, as it states, and due to the nature of the payout, it’s vital to set it up accurately by using a financial advisor as well as estate planning attorneys. It may also require that the owner of the policy place it in a trust in lieu of the actual owner’s name.
Guaranteed Acceptance Life
This is considered to be a third party option. With a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy, it is typically the “last resort”. It’s due to the “per thousand” coverage. This is the most costly of all of the policies.
There are two basic reasons that someone would use this type of policy:
Lower coverage amounts
You cannot be turned down
A lot of people are only seeking a small death benefit such as $5000 to $25,000. That’s all they require. To keep this lower, these carriers don’t require a lot. It helps them to remain competitive and keep the premiums lower. Many carriers don’t offer such a policy lower than $25,000.
The second reason is that these are persons that couldn’t be approved for their policy for medical or age-related reasons. This would preclude them from being able to have a policy at all. It’s their only option.
Is There Term Life For Seniors?
A typical question that seniors ask is if there is a term life that would work. While there are some scenarios that may work well for those over the age of 60, they’re not often taken.
If someone were to seek coverage at this time in their life, it’s typically because they have a long-term financial requirement. Those terms will help to set up the short-term obligation. There are many situations that a senior may wish to consider such a product. Some may include:
Pre-Retirement
If you’re working and will only be working for a few more years before retirement, you might wish to have a gap coverage for those last few years of employment. That way, your spouse can retire right on schedule.
Mortgage Payoff
If you have some remaining on your mortgage, you’ll want to know whether or not this is your last residence before you make this decision. If it is, then buying life insurance that will cover the remainder of the mortgage might help your other half to have what they need and pay off the mortgage in the case of your demise.
Huge Medical Bills
These are common among the elderly. However, there are some health issues that are more costly than others. These can leave a person in huge debt. The spin on this is that it may be tough to be approved of such a situation. However, it can really help the other person that is left behind and they won’t have huge bills looming for the rest of their life.
There are other scenarios that would need a short-term policy to help them resolve the potential hazards. They won’t, however, provide the benefits that are required long-term.
Additionally, life insurance carriers that offer such coverage as a term policy in their 60 and over bracket aren’t able to purchase policies that are 30-year-terms. Thus, even a 10-year policy may not be available.
What About Whole Life?
Whole life policies are more outdated than many others. There are many primary benefits. From premiums and permanence to the guaranteed death benefit and the fact that they offer so many options many aren’t aware of the options.
Previously, universal life policies didn’t have any guarantees that they do today. They were poorly structured and in the late 1980s, they had little to offer in offsetting the disadvantages.
Policies like this aren’t set up that way any longer. Most of them have lower interest rates and currently, thanks to new regulations and carriers, they are respectful of premiums and guidelines. They require minimal maintenance and work very well.
Whole life is an ideal option, but it can become outdated so it’s vital to keep an eye on it. Older, more established policies are ideal to hang on to, however, establishing newer ones is an option for those who are trying to update things. If you’re seeking a great life insurance policy and you’re getting on in years, now is the time to consider your options and make the right decision for your specific needs. The sooner you get the policy going, the sooner you can rest assured that your family is going to be cared for and that you’ll have what you need when you need it. You won’t have to worry about health issues that may keep you from qualifying for your policy and you’ll be able to rest assured that your age won’t affect it either.
Remember, if you have any questions about Life Insurance or want to learn more, we are happy to help!
We are here for you.