Life Insurance Over Fifty? Yes!

Many people believe that once the children are finished with school and no longer living at home, there is no more need for life insurance. In fact, the opposite is true. No matter how old you might be, life insurance can provide a safety  net for your surviving spouse, especially if he or she has only a limited earning potential due to a disability, lack of job skills applicable to the current market, or any other reason.

If you have a mortgage, a car payment, or any credit card debt, the payout from life insurance can be a valuable source of funds so that your spouse or children can pay off that debt, or just cover their everyday living expenses. If your children are not yet out of the home, your life insurance benefits can be used to cover their college tuition.

Another important use of life insurance benefits is to cover your own medical expenses, and help pay for your funeral. Should the worst happen and your death occur prematurely, life insurance will allow your family to pay off any health care  or hospital bills, as well as the fees for your burial or cremation, all of which would be your responsibility.

Coverage Options

Your health status and age will be the determining factors, but most likely you'll be able to choose from several different kinds of life insurance coverage.

Whole Life Insurance, which some people refer to as "permanent" insurance, builds savings that you may borrow against or cash-in if there's an emergency. This is the policy's cash value. If you leave it untouched, it will be paid to your beneficiaries when you die.

Term Life Insurance, on the other hand, is a policy you take out for a specific period of time (five to ten years). It will pay out when you die, but you cannot borrow against it, or cash it in. If you're still alive at the end of the term, you can either renew the policy, or purchase a new one.

Availability

While it's true that some insurers won't write life insurance policies on people over the age of retirement, if you're in your fifties and reasonably healthy, you shouldn't have any issues finding coverage. If you are older, there are still options, but you may be required to purchase term coverage rather than whole life, or you might have to pay a higher rate or pass a health exam.

What about Cost?

No matter your age, cheap life insurance rates will require a medical exam. These are usually fairly simple exams that measure blood pressure and weight and ask you to provide blood and/or urine samples. In most cases, you can even have a representative of the insurance company come to your home and administer the exam there.

If you're adamant about not submitting to a medical exam, or even answering a medical questionnaire, there are still policies available, but again, they will cost more.

Ultimately, the best rates are given to healthy people who don't smoke and only drink occasionally.

The bottom line is this:  You are never too old to buy life insurance, and the more information you provide, the better your rates will be.

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