Posts Tagged ‘seniors’

Over Age 50 Life Insurance Choices

Monday, March 15th, 2010

If you are middle aged, or older, you may wonder if you can still find a variety of life insurance policies to buy. Actually, there is a big variety of policies to consider. The good news is that we are expected to live longer than people were a decade ago. Premiums are based on this, and they may be cheaper than you think they are. If you want to find a policy, you probably can.

Why are baby boomers and seniors looking for policies? At thirty or forty, a lot of us bought a twenty or thirty year term life insurance policy. That seemed like plenty of time to save money, get our kids educated, and pay off our mortgage. We figured that by the time we were fifty or sixty, we would have everything in order, and we would not need coverage any more.

But these days, many of us found that the theory did not prove out for us. Our kids did not manage to become totally self supporting as fast as we thought they would. Sometimes those kids come home with our own kids, and they still need our help. And we did plan to pay off that mortgage. But many of us got delayed because we moved or needed to take out a second loan. Years passed, but we did not outgrow our need for a life insurance policy.

How did we get to this point without any life insurance then? Some of us, thankfully, outlived our life insurance policy. It expired. Others thought they were taken care of by a group policy, but then left that job and lost it. A lot of us had coverage, but do not have it any more.

Who buys life insuramce after 50? People have different reasons for wanting a policy. You must understand your options, what different insurance can do for you, and then you will be able to buy the right coverage for you.

If a person is sure they just want coverage, they may consider another term policy. It will probably be much cheaper than whole life. A middle aged person, or even a younger senior, may still find affordable term life. These lower premiums are important to consider.

Some term policies can be converted to permanent policies later. This allows you to get the cheaper one now, and then decide if you need lifetime coverage later. Since you are not sure what you will need in ten or twenty years, this may be a good option. These policies should not require you to prove you are healthy either.

Even though it costs more, whole life has some benefits. The price will be lower at sixty than it will be at seventy, so you can lock that in now. You will also have the opportunity to build an asset for yourself, or for your estate. You should explore the benefits of permanent coverage before you decide against it.

How much will this cost you. Premiums will vary by many factors. These include the size of the death benefit, the type of insurance, your age, and your general health. An experienced insurance agent should be able to help you explore your options. Just be careful if they seem too concentrated on one type of policy.

Would you like to run some online quotes for 50 plus life insurance ?

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Single Premium Life Insurance Advantages and Disadvantages

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Are you planning for a secure retirement and eventual transfer of your estate? You do not have to be very wealthy to benefit from this. Let us look at one product that is becoming more noticed these days with advisors and people who are making future plans. This is called single premium whole life (SPLI).

The most obvious difference is that you make one large cash payment when your coverage begins. You are probably used to having a monthly bill! That one lump sum funds your coverage, and so you do not have any more payments to make.

So you see that you have given the insurer a certain amount of money. In return, they issue you a policy for a sum that is probably a few multiples of the original amount. Many people are using this product to fund their estate.

Look at the example of a healthy 70 year old who retired from the public school system. Her savings and teachers pension enable her to live well. But she also has another $50,000 she inherited from her own parents. She could take this cash and fund an SPLI for, let us say, $200,000. This way she sets up a nice estate to pass on to her kids and grand kids.

The paragraph above is only meant to illustrate how this works. The amount of cash you would have, and the death benefit you could buy, depend upon different things. As with any other life insurance, your premium and coverage amount will depend upon age, health, etc.

What types of people are happy with a product like SPLI? Well, it seems to work out very well for those with a few thousand dollars that they do not expect to need in the near future. And of course, it is an option for those who would like to take that money and turn it into more money for their estate.

Be sure you will not have to use the money for a few years. In the first few years, policies can impose fees and surrender charges. So it is probably not the right life insurance if you are not sure if you will need the money to live on.

One possible future use of an SPLI is its ability have a cash value very quickly copared to regular life insurance. Once that happens, you can have a place to borrow from. You may also cash out the policy.

Another feature is the fact that many policies allow you to accelerate the death benefit in case of a terminal illness. This way, a person could use the money if they need it. Some also have provisions for withdrawing part of the cash value in case of nursing home confinement.

There could be some disadvantages to single premium life insurance. Remember that early cash outs can incur surrender fees. You lose some of the tax advantages of regular life policies too. And of course, you do need to have a lump sum of cash to fund it.

We can tell you more. ? Look here to get Single Premium Life Insurance Explained.

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Advantages Of Whole Life Insurance

Friday, January 15th, 2010

Why consider whole life? These days, we see a lot of ads for term policies. Consumers are attracted the lower premiums of these temporary policies, and it seems logical to spend less money for more coverage! But many people still want whole life, so we need to explore the benefits.

The simple fact that whole life is permanent should make the first advantage obvious. The policy will cover our lives as long as it is paid for or paid up. That means we will not lose coverage when a policy expires no matter how much money we have spent in the past.

Term policies may not have guaranteed rates over the whole length of the contract. In addition, the death benefit may not be level. Whole life policies have a level premium and death benefit. There are no unpleasant surprises to worry about.

Of course, the main use of life insurance is to pass on money after we die. Since most of the time our life insurance benefits are not taxed, we can pass on the full face value of our policies without worrying about sticking our spouses and kids with additional taxes to pay.

Of course, the final advantage of permanent policies over temporary policies is the fact that they actually help us grow our assets. This can be a great reason to consider whole life over temporary policies. While we pay for coverage, we also grow a cash account.

After some time, these policies actually build up a cash value. If you choose to surrender your policy, you may get accumulated cash in return. If your policy has a cash value, it may also be used to pay premiums if you lose income for awhile. Of course, you need to check with your own life insurance contract to see how this works.

Another use of permanent policies are lilfe settlements. This means that some investors want to purchase life insurance in return for cash. This amount of money will be less than the face value, but more than the surrender value. Sometimes a life settlement can be a great way to help seniors raise money with life insurance policies they really do not need.

We know that you hear a lot about the advantages of term insurance. But before you choose, be sure and explore the pros and cons of term vs. whole life.

Would you like to learn more? Read here : What is Whole Life Insurance?. We want you to understand the types of life insurance before you buy.

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