Financial Planning With A Permanent Policy
How much does Whole Life Insurance For Seniors cost? Do I need it? Is it the same thing as Burial Insurance?
In this article we are going to pull back the curtain and give you the skinny on these insurance products and how they work. Second, how you can cost effectively insure and see your final needs, wants and wishes are met when you are unable to.
Leaving this world costs a lot of money. Does not seem quite right, but yet it is one of the largest expenses we will be responsible for in our lifetimes. However we do this, it is important that we have a financial plan in place to cover the large expenses that come with the end of life.
A permanent or whole life insurance policy designed for a seniors health should be your focus. Let’s leave out the term life insurance products for seniors. Those are not for end of life planning and expire typically by age 80.
Maybe you have questioned yourself… how am I going to prepare for the inevitable and where will the money come from? Am I going to cause a lot of added financial stress for my loved ones upon my passing?
Most seniors do not want to leave a financial crater for their loved ones in a time of extreme grief. The mere fact you are checking into that here today suggests that you do not want that either.
Pat yourself on the back as we get started.
Affordable Senior Whole Life Insurance Protects Your Family
Affordable whole life insurance for seniors offers financial protection that can cover the cost of your death, legacy creation and other, estate related matters.
This type of permanent life insurance is designed typically for people in their “golden years.” It offers the ability to get a lifetime policy for $2,000 all the way to $50,000 with a very quick decision made by the insurance company. Decisions are made typically in 1 business day or less. Often there are little to no health questions on the application depending on the type of whole life insurance policy. Typically, there is no medical exam which means no needles or anyone checking your blood pressure etc.
Coverage is offered by several different life insurance companies. A few you may have heard of but also many others that are not “on the radar” so to speak.
Whole life insurance for seniors is an alternative to a prepaid burial plan with a funeral home which requires an upfront, cash layout.
For many, funeral and burial costs are a very large expense to overcome especially if they are carrying other debt. If that is your case, you are not alone.
Death is certainly very hard for the remaining family we leave behind. The family will be struggling with saying goodbye and moving on emotionally. The financial impact of death can leave some families having to completely change their lifestyle or even wiped out.
Leaving your family member(s) with a potential mountain of debt or without financial resources does not need to happen. No exam final expense insurance can take some or all the financial burden off them.
With senior whole life insurance, you could have lifetime coverage that will transfer the financial burden to an insurance company. It will not expire unless the premium payments are not kept up.
Do you have some money laid aside to cover funeral and burial costs? Are there others dependent upon income you have that they will lose such as Social Security or a paycheck from your employment? Furthermore, do you have any outstanding debts? Credit card bills, mortgage or final medical bills? These are also very typical expenses that a senior whole life insurance policy can be used for to cover.
These are all things to think about and plan for while we can.
So What Does It All Come Down To?
When you hear about a burial Insurance plan or final expense insurance, whether it is acquired thru a life insurance agent or thru a funeral home utilizing a licensed agent’s services, you are really talking about the same thing, just 2 different names. Burial insurance terminology refers to funeral and burial expenses. Final expense policy terminology is more of the complete costs associated with passing away. Marketing terms only.
Senior life insurance plans are most often no exam, simplified issue. These smaller policies can encompass full funeral, burial costs as well as outstanding debts and legacy monies for your family.
You may have also heard of or considered a prepaid burial. This is something you typically purchase at a funeral home versus having insurance. Problem there is… you have to put all the money on the table, upfront. If the funeral home needs $10,000 to cover future services, well they’ll need a check from you for that amount. A good alternative, put the 10k burden on a life insurance company either on a monthly premium basis or quickly multiply that money in a single premium whole life insurance policy!
Cheap Final Expense Policies
Final Expense Insurance is the opposite of a prepaid burial arrangement as you are transferring your “risk” of death to a life insurance company in exchange for a preset, but permanent premium (typically) to age 100.
Affordable life insurance for seniors can pass tax free benefits to your beneficiary. Verify with your agent that your life insurance policy is setup correctly to ensure tax free benefits to your loved ones.
Whether you have made one monthly payment or 120+, it does not matter. Just be sure your policy remains paid up so it does not lapse. The death benefit is triggered upon notification and paperwork required by the insurance company. Notice by your loved ones, your independent agent/broker or the funeral home gets the process started.
Since Final Expense coverage is also used to cover any outstanding debts that may remain upon the passing of the insured, senior whole life insurance helps ease the financial burden placed on the family.
The life insurance/final expense industry has numerous competitive carriers who issue policies designed specifically for people age 50-90 (issue ages) that will cover you permanently.
Being “old school” so to speak and working with a very large number of senior citizens since the late 90’s, I advise considering no exam, “simplified issue products” with health history questions. They are affordable and give you some savings for answering some very basic health questions. Click here for a list of the basic questions to qualify for this coverage.
Now, if maximum savings and a large policy amount is needed we can look at a fully underwritten whole life insurance policy. This will likely produce the best and cheapest offer for you, but will require a bit more work upfront to secure the coverage and patience waiting for an approval or not. Most senior citizens tend to opt for simplicity of a no exam whole life policy, but the savings may make some sense to others who don’t mind the additional delay. We recommend you consider all your options. For someone looking for $25,000 or more coverage, this may produce the cheapest whole life insurance offer for you.
Why?
Because the insurance company is getting to know you better as a risk. The less an insurer knows about your health, the higher the cost for the amount of coverage applied for.
With that said, most seniors opt for easy to apply for no exam final expense life insurance.
Now, there are 3 general benefit tiers available with Final Expense/Burial/Funeral Insurance plans:
- Level Benefits which means the full face amount (full payout) of the policy will be in-force the day the first premium is made. Coverage is permanent as long as premiums are paid in full. This is the ideal and most affordable senior whole life insurance policy. No exam required, but health history questions are part of the application. This is the most affordable whole life insurance for seniors as well.
- Graded Benefits which has a typical 24-month or more “graded period” before the full face amount of the policy is in available. Different insurance companies offer different graded payouts during the first couple of years for natural death causes. Once the graded period has passed, the full policy value is locked for life. Health history questions are part of the application.
- Guaranteed Acceptance/Guaranteed Issue which means you will be accepted regardless of how much risk you pose to the insurance company. During the first 24 months, your beneficiary would receive all of the premiums you paid in plus 7-10% interest. Once the 2 year limited benefit clause has expired, the policy will pay the full death benefit out to your beneficiary. No health questions on the application to be approved.
Guaranteed Issue Whole Life Insurance For Seniors, Affordable?
There are also plenty of people with a very serious health predicament with a poor outlook for the foreseeable future. In that case, Guaranteed Issue final expense plans are available from a few select carriers. We advise against them until all other whole life options are exhausted. If you are looking for affordable whole life insurance for a senior citizen, this is going to be the least desirable way to go. The premiums are more expensive too boot. If your health outlook is not insurable otherwise, you may have to accept the more expensive but guaranteed issue products that we do offer. About 10% of our clientele have policies like this.
Because it is often the only option other than a prepaid burial plan at a funeral home when an applicant has poor health outlook do conditions such as Alzheimers, Dementia, kidney dialysis, organ transplant, late stage internal cancer and of course, terminal illness. There are no health questions to answer as part of guaranteed issue application.
To qualify for a Level benefit plan, an applicant can have some impairments and/or health issues that is controlled via medications or other. We can and will sort this out for you.
Children with elderly parents often ask the question if they can purchase whole life insurance for seniors on their parents.
If that is you, yes, you can be a policy owner and the beneficiary of a final expense/burial plan with your parent(s) as the insured as well. Your mother and/or father must sign the application (done electronically or over the phone thru voice signature) and most carriers will call the proposed and insured and do a quick interview to make sure they understand what is taking place.
As people age, the cost of senior whole life insurance does increase to apply for. There is simply more risk to the insurance company as time goes on. Once accepted, the rate is locked for life.
How Much Coverage Can I Get?
Most senior life insurance companies that offer cheap “no exam” whole life policies go up to $25,000. Some carriers will even offer $50,000. There are a handful that will issue up to $100,000 or more in death benefits but may require a paramedical exam provided by the insurance company at your home depending upon your age.
The Best And Cheapest Whole Life Insurance For People Over 50
What defines “best” for you? This is actually a hard question for me to answer as an independent agent/broker.
Why?
Well, some people are just looking for cheap whole life insurance. They might consider the least costly whole life to be “the best.” Others are looking a flexible policy their budget can afford but offers some additional perks not found in similiar policies. In other words, “value” is their definition of “best.”
Most of the people 50-90 who call us for whole life insurance seem to prefer no exam final expense insurance as their “best” option.
Why? There is never a medical exam and you don’t need to be in excellent health for your age. The applications are more liberal to qualify for coverage at the expense of paying a bit more in cost while still giving the full security of a whole life insurance policy.
On this page is an instant quoting tool. It is a no exam, final expense insurance quoting tool. In a minute you will have the actual pricing of the top final expense whole products on the market. One of those may be exactly what you are looking for, depending on your age, overall health and desired policy amount. Finding the cheapest whole life insurance with no exam does not have to be 1 phone call after the other.
For the best results, you can also call us @ 269-244-3420. What are your goals with the whole life? We shop the market for you based on your overall health.
Who Needs Whole Life Insurance Anyway?
Whole life insurance is a tried, true and dependable way to give your family the money they need to pay for expenses when you are no longer with them. The funds from a life insurance policy can be used for anything they need.
The money is received tax free by your beneficiary if a correctly named beneficiary is listed with the insurance carrier.
Whether the policy benefits are used to pay for a funeral, burial and/or other debt that remain after the passing of the insured, the plans often make a lot of sense for people on a fixed income. It offers a simple way of taking care of those you love and bringing peace of mind for you and your family.
Nothing will ever replace the life lost, but having financial plan in place relieves a tremendous amount of stress as they move on.
Do you want to leave something financial behind for your loved ones for your end of life expenses, a legacy or just some added security as they moved on with life?
Most of the time, whole life insurance for seniors is a affordable if shopped by a independent agent/broker. At the same time, certain offerings may not be the best for your needs. If you do need financial protection, it is important that you’re getting the best coverage you can obtain for your dollar, especially on a fixed income. Watch out for the 995 plans of the world. These are bottom tier whole life policies with very high price tags.
An important key to understand…don’t assume apples are apples with whole life insurance policies. The name of the insurance company does not have anything to do with how much the policy will pay out. The black ink on the policy paper defines what benefits and coverage you and your family have.
I touched on this earlier, we do have clients who wish to minimize their premiums and purchase traditional whole life insurance which may include a paramedical exam in your home. A bit more time committment due to a visit from a nurse is the main downfall of this option in exchange for a “juicier” and less costly policy. This is only adviseable if your coverage exceeds 25,000 or more.
If you are looking for affordable rates, simplicity and don’t need a lot of coverage, the no exam final expense whole life products shown in quoting tool are a simple, straight forward and very cost effective solution. No needles or waiting for the knock on the door for this one.
Affordable Whole Life Insurance Quotes
In order to get the most affordable whole life insurance quotation, your age combined with your overall health will be the primary factors. Of those two factors, age will have the greatest influence. A male, age 80 for example, will have a considerably higher premium for a $15,000 policy than a 70 year old male on the same exact policy.
You are encouraged to find a seasoned independent agent or agency that can shop your coverage with all the top life insurance companies that cater to the elderly. If you’re looking for an affordable whole life insurance quote you want the case shopped out by a professional who has access to the top insurance companies for seniors.
While some life insurance carriers may not be able to accept you, another carrier or two may be fine with any health problem(s) you may be having.
The key is to try to always qualify for full, immediate benefits. Avoid guaranteed acceptance whole life policies unless there are no better options.
We can help you do that.
Conclusion: Cheap Whole Life Insurance for Senior Citizens
As I close this article, I would certainly recommend you discuss these matters with an independent agent or broker who specializes in life insurance. Whole life insurance for seniors varies in cost significantly from company to company. While one or more insurance companies may decline or “rate you up,” it does not mean that there are not others that will offer first day, full coverage to you, affordably. The key is having a proper health assessment done by a experienced, independent professional. This will produce the best outcome for you, your family and a “top tip” for uncovering the truly affordable life insurance polices from the top companies.
This is someone that can help you sort out the significance of your health and point you in the right direction of the best solution that benefit both you and your family. Just remember that not a cheap whole life insurance is created equal. Knowing the claims paying history of a life insurance company is an important factor to consider. Make sure the policy you are apply for comes from an insurance company that has a low complaint index provided by the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners).
Be clear, there is no best insurance company or plan regardless of what has been purported on the internet, television, radio or lining your mailbox. Everyone’s individual situation is unique, especially as we age. At Maple Valley Insurance Group, we have the expertise to find the best value life insurance product to meet the financial needs you have.
Give us a call 269-244-3420, send an email or simply use of instant quoting tool on the right side of the screen to get started.
Be upfront and let us know if you have any tough medical conditions. We can get you insured with an affordable “cheap” whole life insurance policy. Protect those loved ones most important to you. Our team knows who to shop your case to.
Obtaining “the best” whole life insurance for seniors has never been easier and can be acquired right over the phone.
As always, feel from to comment below.