Life insurance is a necessary part of life. Life insurance protects your family when you pass away and leaves them with fewer financial burdens. When the life insurance death benefit is paid out to your family, they can use the funds to cover your funeral and other final expenses. This benefit can help to provide for your family by replacing your income. The main purpose of life insurance is to provide for your family and protect them from financial burdens as they grieve. 

Should people over 80 get life insurance? Is it still important for seniors to get life insurance? These are common questions. Some people believe that you only need life insurance when you have children at home who you are providing for. Others think that you only need it to replace your income for your spouse. At 80 years old, often times people do not see why a senior would need life insurance if they are only thinking about those reasons. 

There are several reasons why seniors over 80 should consider getting life insurance. Life insurance can be important at all ages of life. No matter how old or young someone is, they should at least consider getting life insurance. Having life insurance is very important and can be very beneficial to people of all ages.

At a minimum, often times seniors over 80 years old will get life insurance to cover final expenses. The cost of medical bills, a funeral, and burial can add up. When you pass away, all those expenses fall onto your family. The average funeral costs around $6,500. Once burial expenses are added in, the cost increases to $10,000. This can be big financial burden to place on your loved ones who may not have this cash on hand to pay for these costs. With this in place your family can take the time to grieve without having to worry about the financial part of this.

Other are needing higher amount of coverage to perhaps to off mortgage or to simply create a legacy for their kids and/or grand kids. Recently we spoke to one man who was concerned about the future for his grand kids. He was concerned about rising health care costs, student loan debt, potentially increasing taxes, and reduced benefits in the future such as like Social Security. He wanted to do what he could to improve their financial future.

Others are married and are simply concerned that when their social security check stops their spouse would be lose a social security check and wanted to make sure there was life insurance replace this lost source of income.

If you are going to get life insurance, it is important to do so as quickly as possible. This is the best way to secure an affordable premium. As you age, you can expect to pay more for life insurance when obtaining new coverage. Getting a policy now is a good way to lock in a lower premium that is easier to afford. Life insurance is important and necessary so it is best not to wait. Understand also that most companies don’t even issue policies past the age of 85.

Product Options for Seniors Over 80

Seniors over 80 years old still have a lot of life insurance product options to choose from. Keep in mind that not all of them work for all people. Life insurance is personal. It is best to do thorough and complete research before signing up for a life insurance policy to find the best fit for your needs. Here are some of the life insurance products available for seniors over 80. 

Term Life

If you are 80 years old you can still buy 10 year term life insurance. You cannot buy 15, 20, or 30 year term though. No companies to our knowledge offer it. If you are 81 or older you cannot buy term life insurance. However, don’t let that concern you…

Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL)

A guaranteed universal life policy (GUL) is actually a type of permanent life insurance policy. However, it acts a lot like a term policy. Just like term life, as long as you pay the premium the policy will stay in force. Also, the premium will not go up. Both the death benefit and the premium are guaranteed to stay the same. You can have a policy that have a policy that is guaranteed to last until you are 121 years old. However, if you want to keep costs down or only need the coverage for a shorter period of time you could get a guaranteed universal life policy that is guaranteed to stay in force until age 85, 90, 95, or 100 as an example.

A guaranteed universal life policy is a type of permanent life insurance that is designed for low cost and lifetime coverage if you want it. Although it is a type of universal life policy there is little or no cash value that accumulates in the policy which is the idea. You don’t want to pay extra for cash value. You just want to pay as little as you have to for the coverage you need.

No Medical Exam Final Expense Life Insurance

One type of life insurance is final expense no medical exam life insurance. Commonly, life insurance companies will require people to undergo a medical exam. This includes questions and a physical exam. The purpose of this is for the company to determine how much of a risk it may be to insure you. If you are in good health, you will pay less for life insurance. If you are at risk for developing health problems or already suffer from certain conditions, you will pay more.

With no medical exam life insurance, you bypass the medical exam which makes it more convenient. When you go this route, you will still have to answer the health questions on the application. Also, the insurance company will run a prescription drug check to see what medications you have been prescribed. This is a good option if you may not be able to be insured due to certain health conditions you have. You may have been denied by other life insurance companies and their policies that require medical exams. This is also more convenient for many people who do not care to go through the medical exam process. You will not need to find the time to complete a medical exam. This may be especially difficult for seniors, which makes this a good option.

The downside of no medical exam life insurance is that the life insurance company is taking a risk by insuring you because they do not know your current health status. Because of this, you will pay more money each month. If you are in good health and able to do so, it is a good idea to go through with the medical exam. This will give the company the most accurate representation of your health so they know how to insure you. This will help to save you money over time. 

Simplified Issue Life Insurance

Simplified issue life insurance is what it sounds like. Simplified issue is one type of final expense that can be purchased up to age 85 and for up to $40,000. It is simple to be issued this type of life insurance and approval for coverage typically happens the same day. This is a great choice if you need coverage right away. All you need to do is answer the health questions. This simplifies the process and saves you time.

If you have been denied coverage by life insurance companies in the past, you may still be able to get coverage with simplified issue final expense life insurance. This is very useful for individuals who may have health conditions that are preventing them from being able to get life insurance. This type allows you to get the life insurance that you need without the trouble you may have gotten from trying to get other policies. 

Once again, you will run into the issue of the life insurance company not knowing how much of a risk it is to insure you. They need to know how likely it is that you will pass away while you are covered so they know exactly how to price your premiums. When they cannot do this, they take some risks in insuring you. 

The health questionnaire you are given instead will include basic health questions about serious illnesses, whether you smoke, and more. Answering yes to some of these questions may disqualify you from getting simplified issue life insurance or simply impact your rates. This depends on the life insurance company. If you are not sure of your health status, this can be helpful because you will be able to skip the medical exam. 

Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance

Guaranteed issue life insurance is exactly what it sounds like as well. You are guaranteed to be issued a life insurance policy. If you have attempted to get life insurance before with no success, this is for you. People are sometimes denied life insurance due to their health conditions that were visible in the medical exam or the health questionnaire. 

With the guaranteed issue, there are no medical exams and no health questions are asked. You cannot be denied for any reason. The insurance company does not know your current health status, which raises your premiums. This is simply due to the risk they are taking by insuring you. 

If you have a serious medical condition or cannot get insured for another reason, you will be able to get a guaranteed issue life insurance policy. There is no way for the company to deny you coverage due to the nature of the policy. This is a great option for anyone planning to cover their final expenses. It is especially useful for seniors who need life insurance for these purposes. The main downside of these is the waiting period before getting paid out, which is usually 2 years.

In some cases, people end up paying more in premiums than they get as a total death benefit. This is the main downside of guaranteed issue life insurance. Nonetheless, having guaranteed issue life insurance will ensure that you get the life insurance you need in order to cover your final expenses. It will also give you peace of mind that your family can grieve without the added stress and financial burden.  

Paying For The Funeral

Both no-exam final expense coverage and guaranteed issue life insurance are typically bought to cover funeral costs. As mentioned above you can get up to $40,000 with simplified issue coverage and up to $25,000 with guaranteed issue coverage. Having this coverage is a way to make sure your funeral and burial expenses are taken care of and that the financial burden is not placed on your family members at the time of your death. 

Funerals can be very expensive, which is why it is so useful for the funeral costs to be covered by life insurance. This helps to give your family the time they need to grieve without being stressed out by the sudden and unexpected costs. As mentioned above, the average funeral costs around $6,500. With burial expenses, the cost increases to $10,000. This is a lot of money for your family to come up with in a short amount of time. 

This type of life insurance is not necessary if you already have money set aside to pay for your final expenses. Maybe you have it saved in the bank or have investments that can become liquid quickly. If you have plenty of money to handle these expenses then you will not need final expense insurance.

If you get this life insurance coverage, you will need to name a family member as a beneficiary so they can follow through with your funeral plan. You can also name a funeral director as your beneficiary. The death benefit would then go directly to the funeral home to cover the costs of your funeral.

Sample Cost Rates for Seniors Over 80

Use the quotes below to help you get an idea of what you can expect to pay for the life insurance options listed above. Keep in mind that the cost will vary by the type, company, your health, your age, and more. Talk to an agent to get exact quotes for each type of life insurance. 

80-Year-Old Male in Good Health – 10 year term

• $50,000 worth of coverage: $322.00 monthly
• $100,000 worth of coverage: $388.00 monthly
• $250,000 worth of coverage: $767.00 monthly
• $500,000 worth of coverage: $1496.00 monthly 

80-Year-Old Female in Good Health – 10 year term

• $50,000 worth of coverage: $266.00 monthly
• $100,000 worth of coverage: $291.00 monthly
• $250,000 worth of coverage: $575.00 monthly
• $500,000 worth of coverage: $1143.00 monthly 

80-Year-Old Male in Good Health – Guaranteed Universal Life -(GUL) – Lifetime Coverage

• $50,000 worth of coverage: $316.50 monthly
• $100,000 worth of coverage: $559.00 monthly
• $250,000 worth of coverage: $1,388.55 monthly
• $500,000 worth of coverage: $2,766.07 monthly

80-Year-Old Female in Good Health – Guaranteed Universal Life -(GUL) -Lifetime Coverage

• $50,000 worth of coverage: $277.75 monthly
• $100,000 worth of coverage: $462.29 monthly
• $250,000 worth of coverage: $1,136.78 monthly
• $500,000 worth of coverage: $2,262.49 monthly

80-Year Old Healthy Male Final Expense Whole Life

• $5,000 worth of coverage: $67.92 monthly
  $10,000 worth of coverage: $132.64 monthly
  $15,000 worth of coverage: $197.00 monthly

80-Year-Old Healthy Female Final Expense Whole Life

• 5,000 worth of coverage: $50.80 monthly
• $10,000 worth of coverage: $98.40 monthly
• $15,000 worth of coverage: $146.06 monthly

Shopping Process 

When you begin shopping for life insurance, it is important to work with an independent agent who works with many different insurance companies. This helps to prevent any bias and helps to ensure you understand the policies. The agent can help you select the best option for your needs. 

There are agents who specialize in life insurance for seniors such as us. This can be very helpful so that you are able to know all of your options.

As you shop, compare the rates and coverage. Though it is important to get insured as soon as possible, you should take your time. Make sure the agent explains each policy to you and helps you to understand what might be the best option for you. That way you can be confident that you have the protection you need. 

Summary 

No matter how young or old you are, you should make sure that you have a good life insurance policy. This is a good way to take the financial burden off your family when you pass away. Your medical bills, funeral, and burial will all be covered by the death benefit so that your family can focus on grieving during this hard time. 

Seniors over 80 have several good life insurance policy options. What you choose should depend on your current health status and what you are looking for in a life insurance policy. This is an important decision to make so it should not be made lightly. 

There are several main types of life insurance that seniors over 80 can choose from. These includes guaranteed issue life insurance, no medical exam life insurance, simplified issue life insurance and guaranteed issue life insurance.

It is important to get life insurance as soon as possible to lock in the most affordable life insurance policies. Depending on how old you are when you get a life insurance policy, your premiums can be high. The later you get life insurance, the more you can expect to pay. 

Do not miss out on getting life insurance as a way to have peace of mind about your family being able to pay for your final expenses. This is very important and will be useful to them at the time of your death. It is necessary to get started and find the life insurance policy that works best for your needs so that you can feel safe and secure as soon as possible.

Start Here

The good news for you is you’ve arrived at the right destination. We are life insurance experts who specialize in getting life insurance coverage for seniors. We shop around with all of the best life insurance companies for seniors and get you the best rate without there being a cost to you. Contact us today and let us help you find the perfect policy for you.