Over 60 Life Insurance

Yes, you can get life insurance if you are over 60. Which plan will be recommended to you will depend on your goals, your health, and your lifestyle.

For example, if you are only looking for a small amount of cover to meet funeral expenses maybe an over 50’s policy is suitable, however, if you are looking for a larger amount to repay a mortgage then maybe an over 60s term life insurance policy would be best.

Most of the UK population is now over the age of 60, therefore, the demand for life insurance and mortgage options for the over 60s is increasing.

If your family would benefit for a cash lump sum, should you die then, for peace of mind, an over 60s life insurance policy will be a good idea if you can afford it.

This lump sum of money will provide your family with a level of financial stability for a while and will allow them more time to grieve and manage their bills after you’re gone.

Any government pension income you receive will cease straight after your death along with the reduction in any personal pensions.  Your household bills will still need to be paid so this lump sum insurance money will help ease this pressure.

To provide that peace of mind, paying what you can afford per month on an over 60s life insurance policy will ease the financial pressure on your family.

It’s always a good idea to talk through what policies you have etc and have them set up in trust so when the time comes, your family are prepared and know who to call to claim on the policy.

When considering life insurance if you’re age 60+ there are some important factors to consider, these include:

• The level of cover your family require, the more cover you need, the more expensive the policy.
• How many years to get cover for, the longer the term insurance policy is, the more expensive it will be.
• The beneficiaries of the policy, who would you like the insurance money to go to in the event of your death, your life policy will need to be written in trust.
• Your health, with term insurance and whole of life, any health issues will need to be disclosed as part of the application process.
• Your lifestyle choices, whether you smoke or drink a lot of alcohol will increase any term or whole of life monthly premiums due to the increased risk involved.
• How much you can afford per month, whether you have enough free income per month to pay for an over 60s life insurance plan. For example, if you could only afford £5 per month, maybe a budget over 50s plan would be suitable for you, if you have a bigger budget of £20+ per month, we can explore of the other options available to you.

With an over 60s life insurance policy, your advisor will discuss trusts with you to ensure your money goes to who you would like it to.  We’ll do this for free as part of our over 60s life insurance recommendation and service.

What the best life insurance plan for the over 60s will depend on your personal situation and your lifestyle/health.

Here is a summary of the three over 60s life insurance products that are on the market and a brief description of what they can be suitable for:

Term Life Insurance for the over 60s

An age 60+ term life insurance plan is the most common type of policy.  A term life insurance policy will pay a set amount of cover for a specified term, for example, £50k insurance for 10 years from age 65 to 75 for a known monthly premium. Policies like this example can cost from an estimated £30 per month.

A term life insurance policy is underwritten at the outset which will involve you answering medical questions about your health and lifestyle.  If you are in good health, your policy is likely to get accepted at standard rates.  If you have experienced health issues, your policy is likely to be rated, i.e. the premium increased due to the additional risk involved or you could be declined insurance altogether.

Don’t worry if you are declined for an over 60s term life insurance application, there might be other options we can use with more specialised insurance company.

Whole of Life Insurance for the over 60s

Whole-of-life insurance policies for the over 60s are considerably more expensive than a term policy due to the insurance company knowing that one day they will be paying this claim out.

For the over 60s, a whole-of-life insurance policy is usually used by those looking to provide a lump sum for inheritance tax purposes or those with a mortgage with no end date such as a retirement interest-only mortgage or equity release mortgage.

Over 50s Life Insurance Plans (sometimes called over 60s plan)

With an over-50s life insurance plan it provides a guaranteed lump sum usually up to £20,000 for those over 60 with no medical underwriting involved.  The maximum amount of cover is determined by your age and the level of premium you can afford to pay per month.

Over-50s life insurance are budget plans and are designed to help people where money is tight, but some element of insurance is required. These over 50s plans are also referred to as funeral plans.

Due to the nature of these plans, there are terms and conditions surrounding them such as there are exclusions on policy pay-outs in the first couple of years.

If your health is poor and/or you’re a heavy smoker or drinker and you’ve been declined term insurance these over 50s plans might work for you.  As a last resort, at least you’re likely to have some insurance in place for your family albeit a smaller amount.

An over 60s life insurance policy can cost as much as you like or can afford to pay. How much an over 60s life insurance will cost will depend on:

• Your age, the older you are the dearer it’ll be.
• How much you’d like to be covered for, £100k will cost more than £10k.
• What age you want insurance until, if you would like insurance until you’re 75, you’ll pay more than a person looking to age 70 due to the higher risk.
• Being a smoker or heavy alcohol drinker will increase the price.
• Any pre-existing health conditions may increase the price.

We can consider all the types of insurance policy for you and recommend the best one for your personal situation.

The answer is yes and no, it’ll depend on the type of over-60s policy recommended.  

A term insurance and whole-of-life policy can be in joint names, but a budget over 50s plan cannot, these will need to be done in your sole names with a set insurance amount for each.