Senior Life Insurance

For some senior citizens the idea of life insurance is often met with an assumption that it’s either unnecessary or too late to consider taking out a policy on account of the expense and difficulties gaining approval from a UK insurer.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth, as each provider will have different age limits for taking out life insurance. In this article we take a closer look at how affordable life insurance can be and why it’s just as important for senior citizens to have some cover in place as it is for younger generations.

Why do I still need life insurance in retirement?

There’s a common misconception that once you’re retired there’s no longer any requirement for life insurance and that it’s more of a necessity for young families with mortgages and dependents rather than for seniors or old-age pensioners.

Rather than becoming irrelevant, the need for life cover simply changes as you get older and reach different stages of your life. The life insurance requirements for a young family will be different than for the elderly but nevertheless, in both cases, a need might still exist.

Senior citizens may not, typically, have a need for life insurance plans to cover mortgage debt or for income replacement purposes.

However they may be needed for:

• Funeral costs
• Legacy payments for family members
• Covering any potential inheritance tax (IHT) liabilities

As you can see pretty much everyone, regardless of their age, can benefit from some form of life cover. The key difference is the reason why it may be required.

What happens to your existing policies when you retire?

Your life insurance provision shouldn’t change in any way when you enter retirement unless you’ve specifically arranged for cover to expire on this date.

So, for example, if you have a fixed-term insurance plan that expires when you reach 65 years of age and you retire at 60, your cover still has five years left to run.

As outlined above, if you’ve recently entered retirement it may be a good opportunity to review your life cover as you may feel that your needs have now changed. This is where we can help.

If you make an enquiry, we can arrange for an advisor we work with to get in touch and discuss your existing coverage.

What are the best life insurance solutions?

The best life cover solutions will depend upon your specific reasons for wanting the cover. In this regard there are two options to consider:

• Fixed-term insurance
• Whole life insurance

Fixed-term insurance policies can provide cover for a set period of time and stops once you reach the end of the policy; the term you pick (for example 10 or 15) will determine what age you will be once it ends. This type of insurance will likely be the more affordable option of the two.

However, in the case of wanting to cover a need such as funeral expenses or an inheritance tax liability, there’s no sure way of knowing when a claim would need to be made. On this basis, whole life insurance (providing cover whenever death occurs) may be more appropriate.

If you’re a senior citizen, the most effective way to find a life insurance solution which would best suit your needs is to speak with an experienced advisor who can provide essential knowledge across different types of policies.

If you get in touch we can arrange for an advisor we work with to speak with you directly.

How can I find affordable life insurance for senior citizens over 75?

There’s no doubt that old age will affect the cost of life insurance. The older you become, the more likely you are to become ill and, therefore, make a claim. This ultimately increases the risk a provider has to take which results in higher premiums.

Despite this, there are still a number of senior life insurance companies who are willing to provide cover for pensioners over the age of 75 and, in some cases, with no medical details needed.

Some providers can provide guaranteed life cover for UK residents between the ages of 50-80 with no requirement for any medical or health questions. However, as with most policies of this nature, a claim cannot be made in the first two years unless in the event of an accident.

The best way to find a senior life insurance company who can provide cover for anyone over 75, at a low cost and potentially with no medical or health questions required is to get in touch with us so we can ask an expert to assist you.

Speak to an expert

There’s no doubt life insurance can be just as important when you reach retirement as it is when you’re younger. The advisors we work with can help you identify a plan that best suits your requirements, regardless of your age and can even provide quotes from your best-matched providers.

All advice is free and you’re under no obligation to make a purchase. Give us a call on 0808 189 0463 or make an enquiry to get started.