Can You Get Affordable Life Insurance When You're 50 And Beyond?

Once they get to be fifty years old many people start to think about retirement. At that point in your life it seems that life should be a lot easier and simpler than it was when you were in your twenties and thirties. Theoretically, all the kids are grown and on their own, you've paid up your mortgage, and you've saved enough to cover all your future needs.

That's the theory. But sometimes things just don't work out the way we hope, do they?

If, somewhere along the line, you've lost your job or had a big financial setback, you may have depleted your savings account, or at the least have ravaged it a bit. And if you're one of the people who had children later in life, you might still be supporting them.

Many children are also returning to their parent's homes, sometimes with their own families in tow. And, if you've refinanced your mortgage, you might still have that hanging over your head.

One of the problems with any of these scenarios is that if you bought term life insurance when you were younger, anticipating that you would be financially set at this time in your life, you may be confronting an unenviable situation where you are about to lose your cover and won't have enough saved to take care of the people you love if should you perish.

Although unenviable there are some options still available to you.
If you're over fifty, and even if you're well into retirement, you can still get a life insurance policy. But your choices will be more limited than they used to be. Your options will primarily depend on your age, where you live, your health, and your budget.

Even if you're seventy, you should still be able to qualify for a term policy. It will more than likely be for ten years rather than thirty, but the coverage should still be available. In order to keep your premiums affordable, the face amount may not be quite what you'd like, but at least you should find some coverage.

If you're beyond 50 and your health is at issue, take a look at simplified issue senior life policies. Only a few questions about your health are asked, and most older people do qualify for one of these policies.

If you're more than 70 years old but less than 80, a guaranteed issue policy will most likely be approved. Keep in mind that the policy premiums will be higher than those for simplified policies. A guaranteed issue policy probably won't have a death benefit until a two to three year waiting period has passed.

If you pass before the waiting period, your beneficiaries should have the option of either getting a percentage of the total death benefit or having the premiums that you paid returned to them with plus a specified interest rate.