Saving Money on Life Insurance for Seniors

There is a common misconception in the United States that seniors don’t need life insurance. Not having life insurance could be one of the worst mistakes that you make for your loved ones. Regardless of your age, you still might need life insurance.

If you do need coverage, you might assume that your life insurance plan is going to be expensive because of your age. That’s simply isn’t true. There are several ways that you can get lower rates. It’s important that you get the coverage that your family deserves at an affordable price.

At Over50LifeInsure.com, it’s our mission to ensure that you’re getting the best life insurance policy on the market. This article is going to look at several different ways that you can save money every month on your life insurance.

Ways to Save Life Insurance as a Senior

Because life insurance is one of the most important purchases that you’ll ever make, it’s important that you make the best decision for your loved ones.

There are a couple of ways that you can ensure that you’re getting the lowest available prices. Getting lower rates are going to mean more money in your pockets. 

As you probably know, the older that you are, the more that you’re going to pay for your life insurance.

Depending on your age, you might be restricted on the type of plans that you can buy, but regardless of how old you are, you can find a perfect life insurance plan that will give you affordable insurance coverage.

If you want to save money on your life insurance as a senior, the first thing that you should do is cut out any tobacco that you currently use. If you’re a smoker or you use chewing tobacco, then you can expect to get drastically higher rates for your life insurance protection.

Smokers and tobacco users are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with mouth cancer, lung cancer, or cardiovascular complications, like a heart attack. That means that you’re going to pose a much greater risk to the insurance company, and they are going to offset that by charging you drastically higher rates.

In fact, smokers are going to pay at least twice as much for their life insurance versus what a non-smoker would pay for the same sized insurance plan.  If you want to obtain the cheapest life insurance over age 50 we highly recommend quitting smoking.

Having said this there is at least one company that offers non smoker rates to people that use chewing tobacco, a pipe, and electronic cigarettes.

Many companies will offer non smoker rates for people that smoke cigars.  The key is to know how often you smoke cigars.  With some companies you can smoke up to a cigar a week and still receive the best non smoker rates the company offers.

For those those that smoke marijuana it’s important to know that some companies will only offer you tobacco rates even if you only smoke marijuana once a year.

Other companies could offer you non smoker rates even if you smoke marijuana 4 to 6 times a week.  That’s a huge difference.

It’s also possible to get the best non smoker rating with at least one company if you smoke marijuana as often as once a month.

If you use marijuana for medicinal purposes it’s possible to qualify for the best non smoker rates with at least one insurance company.  However, they will underwrite you for the reason you need to use medicinal marijuana.

What that means is that if you are smoking marijuana as result of a recent cancer diagnosis for example you wouldn’t be able to qualify for the best rates.

Another way to save money is to calculate all of your life insurance needs before you purchase life insurance. It’s important that you have enough life insurance for your family, but you don’t want to pay for more protection than you need.

Before you apply for any type of plan, determine how much coverage that your family will need if something tragic were to happen to you.

In calculating how much you need consider such things including whether you want to have a mortgage you want to have paid off or have any other outstanding debts,  if somebody relies upon your monthly income, or if you just need a plan to cover final expenses.

Also, make sure you give some thought to how long you need the life insurance coverage for.

If you only need life insurance for 10 or 15 years then you may not need the 20 year level term plan.  Know that the shorter the level term period of the policy the lower your rates are going to be.

Another way that you can save money is to improve your health. If you’re overweight or you have a pre-existing condition, then the insurance company is going to charge you more for life insurance.

If you want to save money, you should be trying to get in shape and manage your health as much as possible. That could mean anything from getting exercise, taking medications, and following a healthy diet.

If you’re overweight, then you’re going to pay at least 50% more for your life insurance. Losing weight will not only improve your health, but it’s going to keep more money in your pocket every month.

Having said if you are overweight and need the coverage now, it’s important to apply with a carrier that offers more favorable rates to people with a few extra pounds.

Every insurance company has different height and weight guidelines.  Some are are more lenient than others.  It’s important to know upfront which company is going to look at your application most favorably.

Each company has different underwriting guidelines when it comes to the rates that they are willing to offer to people with diabetes, various heart issues, depression, anxiety, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and so on.

It’s important to know how the insurance company that you are considering applying with views your specific medical history before actually applying.

This is also true with other non health related factors.  As an example if you had two speeding tickets in the last three years you could still get the best rates possible with one company.

However, with another company you could only have one speeding ticket or moving violation in the last three years to qualify for best possible rates.

This is why it’s so important to understand your medical history, driving, history, and other lifestyle habits to help match you to the company that will look at your application most favorably.

Working with an Independent Insurance Agent

The best way to ensure that you’re getting the lowest rates is to compare dozens of plans. As we mentioned already every insurance company is different, and all of them are going to give you different rates depending on the company that you contact.

All of them have different medical underwriting and rating systems that they are going to use. Finding the perfect company will be the difference in getting an affordable policy or one that’s going to break your bank every month.

There are hundreds of different companies on the market, and all of them are going to give you different rates depending on the company that you contact.

Instead of wasting hours and hours calling those companies yourself, let one of our agents do all of that hard work for you. Unlike a traditional insurance agent, our independent brokers work with dozens and dozens of highly rated companies across the nation.

We can bring a personalized set of quotes directly to you, which will save you both time and money on your life insurance.

Burial Insurance

One popular option for cheap life insurance for seniors is to purchase a burial insurance plan. If all you need is a policy to take care of final expenses and burial costs then a burial insurance plan may be all you need.

These policies provide much smaller amounts of coverage that will give your family enough money for burial fees or any funeral costs. Because these plans are much smaller, they are going to be a lot cheaper to purchase.

They don’t require a medical exam and some don’t ask any health questions, which means that you can get life insurance much faster.

With a burial insurance plan, you’ll be able to get around $25,000 worth of coverage. That will give your family the money that they need if something tragic were to happen to you. Because these policies are a unique type of plan, they won’t work well for everyone.

Questions about Life Insurance for Seniors

We know that nobody wants to plan for tragedy, but it’s important that your family has the coverage that they need.

Not having life insurance could leave your family with a mountain of debt, and they would be responsible for paying off all of those bills. Life insurance will give them the money that they need.

If you have any questions about life insurance or ways that you can save money on your life insurance coverage, please contact us today. We would love to answer those questions and ensure that you’re getting the best rates possible.

Don’t wait another day to get the life insurance protection that you and your family deserves.