Whole Life Insurance For Seniors

Whole Life Insurance For Seniors And Retirees

Youre a retired senior. Your kids dont rely on you anymore because theyre self-sufficient and your mortgage is paid. So you dont have to carry on with life insurance, right? Maybe not, but in some cases, you might want to.

Youre correct for the most part according to many financial planners, Life Insurance is meant to replace income, pay debt or leave a legacy if a policyholder dies prematurely.

If youre not working anymore, you dont have income to replace but you may have debt or legacy needs. But, before you let your policy lapse, you should consider your personal financial picture.

There are a number of reasons why you may want a small whole life insurance policy in retirement.

Guaranteed Universal Life Insurance For Seniors

Universal life or adjustable life allows for more freedom than a standard whole life policy. With some universal policies, you can reduce or even skip payments although this may cause the value of the policy to increase at a slower rate since you are covering your payments with the current cash value.

If you have health conditions that make it hard to qualify for term insurance, guaranteed universal life insurance is something to consider since its a cross between term life insurance and whole life insurance. You will need to undergo an underwriting process just as you would when buying a term life insurance policy for seniors.

How We Chose The Best Life Insurance For Seniors

With so many contenders in the life insurance industry, we wanted to pick companies that appealed to seniors and offered great plans and benefits with little-to-no restrictions. To do this, we evaluated each company using three factors: age/benefit limits, plan, and rider availability, and nationwide availability.

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Quality Of Life Insurance

, with Living Benefits, can offer seniors coverage for expenses they may incur while still living, in addition to the death benefit offered to named beneficiaries of the policy. This type of policy may be best suited to seniors who anticipate medical expenses that will arise due to a chronic, critical, or terminal health condition during their lifetime*. This option is beneficial in that it is flexible, customizable, and generally quite affordable for seniors. At the same time, this type of policy can accumulate cash value and can be added as a rider to existing insurance options like Term Life and Universal Life insurance.

Cash Value Whole Life Insurance

Cash value whole life insurance is great for seniors who would like to leave a legacy, and who would like to accrue cash value within their policy. The premiums for cash value whole life policies are the same each year, and the coverage never expires. The policy will accrue cash that you can borrow against, which provides some great flexibility to the policy owner.

Cash value whole life insurance can be a tremendous estate planning tool. For seniors in the right situation, cash value whole life insurance can be a great way to leave a legacy, to reduce estate taxes, and to gain some flexibility with an increasing death benefit. However, cash value whole life insurance is not for everybody. The biggest factor in determining the right type of life insurance is the reason why you need it. Understanding your motive will help determine which type of senior whole life insurance is right for you.

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How Much Does A Senior Life Insurance Policy Cost

There are several factors that contribute to the cost of a life insurance policy. The main factors are age, health history, gender and lifestyle. Typically, younger people pay less for life insurance than older people. Additionally, healthy individuals will pay less for life insurance than people who have pre-existing health conditions or people who smoke.

When looking at a senior life insurance company, it is important to keep in mind that term life insurance is typically less expensive than a permanent policy, but those costs will increase the older you are regardless of policy type. Because the cost of life insurance is so personalized, everyone will pay a different premium based on their own specific rating factors, but rates for the same life insurance policy will not vary greatly between companies like other insurance types.

Before purchasing life insurance, you may still want to shop around and get quotes from multiple life insurance companies to find the best option for you, such as varying requirements to qualify. And if you are considering buying life insurance, doing it as soon as possible will help ensure your premiums are within your budgetthe younger you are, the lower life insurance premiums tend to be.

Best For Living Benefits: Nationwide

• AM Best Rating:AM Best is a credit rating agency that assigns insurance companies a letter grade from A++ to F. A companys grade indicates its ability to pay its claims and honor its financial obligations.A+
• Accepts Credit Cards:Yes

You generally can’t get an online quote for permanent coverage from any life insurance company. Call 1-800-848-6331 to get a quote for permanent coverage from Nationwide.

• No-exam coverage available to some seniors

• High customer satisfaction rating

• Online term applications are available

• Accepts credit card payments

• Doesnt offer dividend-paying whole life

• Simplified whole life policies are only available to existing policyholders

Nationwide stands out as the only company on this list that includes chronic, critical, and terminal illness accelerated death benefit riders at no additional cost on most of its policies. Also known as living benefits, these riders let you access the death benefit early, before death, to help pay for expenses if you experience a qualifying condition.

Besides that, the company ranked #2 out of 21 companies in J.D. Powers 2021 customer satisfaction survey, and received fewer complaints than expected for a company of its size, according to the NAIC. To boot, its easy to find policy-specific information online without having to contact an agent, and Nationwide is one of the few life insurers that accepts credit cards and the only one in this list to let you apply online without an agent .

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Life Insurance For Seniors Over 80

Elderly seniors over 80 typically wont qualify for term life insurance policies over 10 years in length, however, you can still qualify for permanent coverage. A permanent policy is also likely a better choice, as it can be incredibly difficult to purchase coverage after age 90 if you still have financial obligations. Depending on your health, the most affordable option for permanent life insurance would be:

Final Expense Insurance For Seniors

Final expense insurance also called burial insurance or funeral insurance is a type of whole life insurance meant to help your loved ones with funeral costs and other end-of-life expenses like unpaid medical bills. Today, funerals more than $9,000 according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Final expense policies are popular with seniors because you often dont have to take a medical exam to qualify coverage is issued based on answers to health questions on the application. Policy rates are typically more affordable than other types of life insurance because the policy amount is usually much smaller, typically $10,000 $15,000.

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How We Chose The Best Life Insurance For Seniors Without Medical Exams

When looking for life insurance that doesnt require a health exam, there are several key factors to consider. First, if a provider does not require a medical exam, it doesnt mean that they cannot reject you based on your health status. Many life insurance providers will still ask you health-related questions and your answers could affect your ability to qualify for a policy.

We researched each provider to see whether they offer life insurance to seniors without any health requirements or if they simply offer policies without health exams. In most cases, if there are no health requirements involved, the premiums tend to be much higher. We have narrowed down our list of insurance providers based on whether or not your health status is a factor, the overall cost of plans, the variety of plans with no medical exams, and the preset age limits.

Dont Base Your Decision Solely On Cost

Price is a critical factor when choosing a life insurance policy, but you shouldnt base your decision only on cost. Check out financial strength ratings for the insurers, such as AM Best ratings.

Research the available life insurance riders for the policies youre considering. Life insurance riders allow you to add on coverage. Some riders let you access your death benefit while youre still living for qualifying circumstances, such as accelerated death benefits for chronic or terminal illness, and long-term care riders.

Once youre comfortable with a list of insurance companies, you can get quotes to find the best senior life insurance policy for you.

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Life Insurance Living Benefits For Seniors

Depending on the insurer, some life insurance policies either include “living benefits” or give you the option to add these through riders. Living benefits is how policy features are described that can offer financial assistance while youre still alive. Some of the most commonly offered living benefits are:

• Accelerated death benefit
• Accidental death and dismemberment
• Waiver of premium

An accelerated death benefit rider simply gives you the option to receive a portion of the death benefit early if youre diagnosed with a qualifying illness. This option can be incredibly valuable as a senior if youre concerned about your ability to cover medical expenses that are common later in life. Just make sure the insurer will accelerate the death benefit for a variety of illnesses, and not just those that are terminal.

The amount of money youre able to receive as an accelerated death benefit will be capped as a percentage of the death benefit or dollar amount. This figure will be deducted from the death benefit your family receives when you pass away. So, if you had a $500,000 death benefit and your insurer capped the amount you could accelerate at “the lesser of $250,000 or 75% of the policys face value”, you could request up to $250,000 while still living.

How We Make Money

The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.

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Our Whole Life Insurance

At Americo Senior Life, our top priority is peace of mind both for you, and your loved ones. Thats why our whole life insurance policies are designed to provide lifelong coverage with benefits that are tailored to your needs. Our options provide security against costly final expenses that can become a burden on your family.

If youre considering whole life insurance but unsure if its right for you, were here to give you the basics of what this policy offers and how it can benefit you and your loved ones.

What is Whole Life Insurance and How Does it Work?

Whole life insurance coverage lasts your entire lifetime as long as you keep up your premium payments. Whole life policies from Americo Financial Life and Annuity Insurance Company have policies that provide a death benefit payout ranging from $5,000 to $30,000, so you can choose whatever amount suits your financial needs. Americo Senior Life provides life insurance with a death benefit payout ranging anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000, so you can choose whatever amount suits your financial needs. If youre looking to simplycover your final expenses, you can choose a lower amount. If you have other debts such as a mortgage that will need to be paid off in your absence, select a higher amount of coverage so your loved ones arent left with extra bills to pay.

Term vs. Whole Life Insurance Explained

Choosing Whole Life Insurance

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Whole Life Insurance Rates For Children

Often, grandma or grandpa will see the benefits of whole life insurance and want to get a policy for the grandchildren or parents will use whole life as a savings vehicle for their kids, since the internal rate of return on the policy is much higher than what banks are offering on a CD or savings account.

Whole life insurance for children is a great choice because of the different lifetime benefits received.

For example, as the whole life policys cash value grows, it can be withdrawn or borrowed against to pay for a car, education, or even a down payment on a home.

And the parent or grandparent can be the owner of the policy and direct when and how the funds are accessed.

Whereupon a certain age, the parent or grandparent can then transfer ownership over to the adult child, who has now reached adulthood.

Guaranteed Insurability

You can even chose a guaranteed insurability rider that allows the child to add additional coverage at certain ages and life events. That means that even if that child should develop a health issue that would preclude them from qualifying for coverage, getting additional coverage is not a problem with the Guaranteed Insurability rider.

The following sample child whole life insurance quotes based on a preferred plus male for ordinary whole life insurance to age 100 with an A rated insurance company or better. Monthly Rates are for informational purposes only and must be qualified for.

About Whole Life Insurance

POLICY DESIGN

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How Much Does Senior Life Insurance Cost

In general, the cost of any insurance is directly proportional to the risk the insurer is willing to assume by offering you a policy. With life insurance, the higher your risk of dying, the more expensive your premiums.

Many different variables go into calculating premiums, so its hard to offer ballpark figures without knowing the specifics.

What you pay for your life insurance policy will depend on your:

• Type of life insurance policy
• Amount of coverage or its value
• Gender
• Health status and family health history
• Tobacco use
• Driving record
• Occupation and hobbies

One of the most important of these factors is age. While there are still life insurance options available up to age 85, the older you get, the more expensive your premiums will be.

Underwriting Process

The underwriting process is meant to assess your life and risks as an applicant. Since life insurance companies price risk differently based on their underwriting guidelines, results and resulting premiums always vary.

Because underwriting can be so varied, its recommended you get at least three life insurance quotes from different companies before settling on an insurance policy. Another alternative is hiring a broker to shop around, though this will mean paying for their services.

Riders

Whole Life Policy Features

State Farm Whole Life insurance policies offer level premiums and life insurance protection for as long as you live, provided that premiums are paid as required to keep the policy in force.

Policies can be paid with a single premium, premiums payable to 100, or premiums payable up to a limited number of years.

While policy loans do accrue interest daily, any outstanding policy loans and interest will reduce the death benefit and cash value.

While not guaranteed, policy may earndividends2 that can be paid in cash, used to reduce policy premium, accumulate as interest, or pay for additional insurance.

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When Does The Policy Kick In

Different insurance companies have different guidelines that dictate when your policy will go into effect. For instance, some life insurance policies are effective immediately others wont pay the death benefit if you die in the first two years of your policy. Be sure to ask your insurance company about this important question before buying a policy.

Get A Senior Whole Life Insurance Quote

If youre ready to take the next step in helping to protect your familys financial future, or if you just have questions, contact your American Family Insurance agent today.

Ready for a quote? Use our life insurance calculator to get started. Follow the prompts including providing your birthdate and ZIP code to get an estimated quote. When using the calculator, be sure to change the default coverage amount to $15,000 to see a DreamSecure Senior Whole Life quote. And if you like, well connect you with an agent who can give you more information about the policy.

This is a brief description of coverage and is subject to policy and/or rider terms and conditions which may vary by state. Fixed and guaranteed premiums are statements about the policy as determined at issue, and any changes made to a policy may affect the premium and are subject to our underwriting rules. The words lifetime,lifelong and permanent are subject to policy terms and conditions. This policy matures at age 121. Please check with an American Family agent for details on coverages and restrictions.

* The issuance of this policy may depend on the answers to the questions asked in the application.

Policy Form ICC17-228 WL, Policy Form L-228 WL, Policy Form L-228 WL

Recommended Reading: Mo Dept Of Health And Senior Services

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