If your an elderly person you know how hard it is to get life insurance. With age comes a declined physical health that could cost you big or even worse you may not even be able to qualify at all.
However when it comes to life insurance their is one type of policy that will fit an older persons budget and be more likely to help you get approved with easier and that is term life insurance for the elderly, in this article I’m going to cover seven reasons why term insurance for the elderly is the best route to go.
Premiums Are Cheaper
First off, one of the biggest benefits is that the premiums are much cheaper than permanent policies such as a variable universal life insurance policy. As a former life insurance agent I’ve written term polices up for people as low as $15 a month. On the other hand permanent policies run around $50 a month starting out.
You Don’t Have To Save
Next, with term policies you are not required to save any money because they have no cash value unlike a permanent policy. With a permanent policy such as a whole life policy you are required to pay the normal life insurance fees but on top of that you will also have to pay an extra amount as a part of your premium that will go towards your cash value.
You Can Choose The Term
With a term policy you can also choose the term or length of the policy you want. Typical term life insurance for elderly people can range from as long as 30 years or as short as 5 years. The benefit to this is that shorter term life policies will cost far less than a 30 year term policy and it also becomes a benefit if you only need a life insurance policy to cover you for a couple of years.
It Will Give You A Return On Premium
Back several years ago an argument was made that term insurance is like throwing your money away and with whole life and other permanent policies it will allow you get that money back through the cash value. Well now all that has changed since they’ve come out with a return of premium rider. This is a rider you can add to you term policy that will pay you almost all of your premiums back after the term is up for the policy.
The Rates Never Change
Next, term insurance for old people also has the benefit that the rates will never change. Unlike permanent policies the premiums may never change but the portion of money that will actually be saved towards your cash value will. So if you have a medical condition you will actually end up paying more with a permanent policy.
Death Benefits Can Be Set Much Lower
Sixth, with a term policy you can set the death benefit much lower. In fact many term policies can be set as low as $10,000. With whole life or variable life insurance the minimum death benefit you can have a lot times is $50,000. So if you only need $10,000 or $15,000 of coverage this would be a much cheaper route to go.
No Risk Involved
Finally, the last benefit term life insurance for old people is that it has no risk involved with it. What I mean is if you have your money in a variable life policy you are at risk of losing money since the cash value is invested in the stock market through sub-accounts within the policy. With term insurance their is no risk since they do not have a cash value.
However their is another risk as well. Permanent life insurance polices also carry what is known as a deferred sales charge. This is a charge that is imposed if you pull money out of your cash value before the deferred charge period is up. The typical time period for a deferred sales charge is around 10 to 15 years and if you need the money within the policy before that you will be paying to get it back.
A Final Thought…
As a final thought to wrap up this article if I haven’t spelled it out clear enough for you term life insurance for the elderly is the real answer when it comes to your financial protection of your loved ones. Start by contacting your insurance agent today and find out how cheap it really is. Most insurance agents will be happy to run you a few quote to help you get started.
