Why would an older person still need life insurance?
You may think that your life will get simple in middle age or your senior years. But many of us find that we still have a lot of the same responsibilities that we had before. People depend upon us, and we want to make sure they are taken care of if we pass away.
When we were younger, our agents probably told us to buy a term policy to cover our home mortgages, and also to provide for children while they are young. That agent may have told us that term would be a good choice because by the time the policy expired we would have outgrown a need for coverage. Our mortgages would all be paid off, our kids would be off in the world, and our investment funds would be enough to provide for us.
How did that plan work out for you? I know that my life did not follow the smooth path that financial advisors told me it would. I know that did not happen for a lot of other people my age either.
Why You May Still Need Life Insurance Over 50
* Kids did not leave home or become self supporting on schedule. Sometimes they returned to their parents with their own kids!
* Homes got sold or refinanced, so money was still owed on home mortgages. These homes did not get paid off.
* Savings plans got help up because of a job loss, illness, or other financial problem. Investments lost value because of economic downturns.
You probably did have coverage at some point in your life. Many of us had term policies that expired, and many more of us had a group plan at work that ended when we left that job. And now, as we get older, we find that we do not have coverage.
The Good News About Life Insurance After 50
Americans are living longer and more productive lives than they were in the past, so many insurers are taking those statistics into account when they set rates. You may be pleasantly surprised by how affordable your coverage may be. Of course, those rates will depend upon your own health, lifestyle, location, and how much life insurance you want to buy! The type of life insurance, whole, term or universal, will also affect your rates.
But a reasonably healthy person in their 70s may be able to find an affordable 10 year life insurance policy. And a senior, even with health issues, can probably find a smaller face value whole life insurance policy called final expense.
