You will find life insurance for elderly people is not quite as easy to get as a life policy taken out when you are young.
But one strong characteristic of the life insurance industry is it's capacity to craft policies which meet people's needs while still giving a good return to the underwriters of policies.
So there are some insurers who specialize in life policies for the elderly, even for those with serious health conditions.
How the state of your health affects your eligibility If you are looking at life insurance for elderly people you know or for yourself as an elderly person, certain factors will be taken into account by insurers.
These are, the age of the person taking out the policy, the person's state of health and why this elderly person needs a life policy.
The nature of the policies available and the premiums will be determined by the interrelationship of these 3 factors.
The state of health of an elderly person is not an deal breaker issue for insurers.
If a person has a serious health condition like cancer or long standing diabetes, insurers will still offer a life policy for elderly people.
It is even possible to get what is called a guaranteed issue life policy, one which, as the name suggests ensures a prospective policy holder will not have their request for a policy denied.
A guaranteed issue life insurance for elderly people means they can definitely get a life policy.
But it is a life policy of a particular kind.
The policy will offer only graded benefits.
A graded benefits policy is one where you will not get the full face value of the policy if you die in the first 2 years.
If you are elderly, why do you want a policy? If you have the kind of general health issues most elderly people have, such as stiff joints, a mild heart condition or you are a bit overweight you can certainly get a life policy fairly easily.
Probably the best type of policy for you to buy is whatever form of whole life insurance is available at a reasonable rate.
These types of policies will cover the cost of a funeral and may also provide an additional cash benefit to your heirs depending on the face value of the policy.
Some elderly people prefer to buy a term life policy which covers them for a specified term, not their whole life.
The attraction is they are useful in covering known fixed liabilities such as burial costs.
A term life policy can also be set up to pay out a mortgage debt.
Some financial advisers do not support term life policies for elderly people.
They point out that many such policies can come to the end of the 'term' of the policy and there are no accumulated funds available, depending on the type of term policy taken out.
Also if you want to extend such a policy you have to undertake another medical exam which, depending on your age and health, may mean you are only eligible for a very limited policy indeed.
As life insurance for elderly people is a specialized form of life policy you will need to do some research and get some good advice if you are to get a policy well suited to your needs.
Start by knowing the major conflict within the insurance industry itself concerning these policies, is between those who recommend taking out only whole life policies and those who support the usefulness of term policies under certain circumstances.
You will need to make up your own mind but rest assured insurance is available to you if you want it.
It will help you make up your mind about which way to go if you get a quote from a reputable insurance company.
But one strong characteristic of the life insurance industry is it's capacity to craft policies which meet people's needs while still giving a good return to the underwriters of policies.
So there are some insurers who specialize in life policies for the elderly, even for those with serious health conditions.
How the state of your health affects your eligibility If you are looking at life insurance for elderly people you know or for yourself as an elderly person, certain factors will be taken into account by insurers.
These are, the age of the person taking out the policy, the person's state of health and why this elderly person needs a life policy.
The nature of the policies available and the premiums will be determined by the interrelationship of these 3 factors.
The state of health of an elderly person is not an deal breaker issue for insurers.
If a person has a serious health condition like cancer or long standing diabetes, insurers will still offer a life policy for elderly people.
It is even possible to get what is called a guaranteed issue life policy, one which, as the name suggests ensures a prospective policy holder will not have their request for a policy denied.
A guaranteed issue life insurance for elderly people means they can definitely get a life policy.
But it is a life policy of a particular kind.
The policy will offer only graded benefits.
A graded benefits policy is one where you will not get the full face value of the policy if you die in the first 2 years.
If you are elderly, why do you want a policy? If you have the kind of general health issues most elderly people have, such as stiff joints, a mild heart condition or you are a bit overweight you can certainly get a life policy fairly easily.
Probably the best type of policy for you to buy is whatever form of whole life insurance is available at a reasonable rate.
These types of policies will cover the cost of a funeral and may also provide an additional cash benefit to your heirs depending on the face value of the policy.
Some elderly people prefer to buy a term life policy which covers them for a specified term, not their whole life.
The attraction is they are useful in covering known fixed liabilities such as burial costs.
A term life policy can also be set up to pay out a mortgage debt.
Some financial advisers do not support term life policies for elderly people.
They point out that many such policies can come to the end of the 'term' of the policy and there are no accumulated funds available, depending on the type of term policy taken out.
Also if you want to extend such a policy you have to undertake another medical exam which, depending on your age and health, may mean you are only eligible for a very limited policy indeed.
As life insurance for elderly people is a specialized form of life policy you will need to do some research and get some good advice if you are to get a policy well suited to your needs.
Start by knowing the major conflict within the insurance industry itself concerning these policies, is between those who recommend taking out only whole life policies and those who support the usefulness of term policies under certain circumstances.
You will need to make up your own mind but rest assured insurance is available to you if you want it.
It will help you make up your mind about which way to go if you get a quote from a reputable insurance company.