Life insurance for seniors are life insurance policies that allow people of senior age, who often have a number of pre-existing medical conditions, to still qualify.
In most situations the coverage required by seniors is not very extensive since it serves the purpose of covering outstanding debts and covering final expenses rather than supporting others.
There are several types of life insurance for seniors that we will review below in more detail.
Lorne Marr from LSM Insurance shares his experience:
“Seniors are needing life insurance more than ever and in Canada there is an increase in an amount of debt that a lot of seniors have and more people are carrying a mortgage into their later years so that puts a stronger emphasis on life insurance for seniors.
Now, if seniors are looking into life insurance, they gonna wanna decide if they want a traditional life insurance policy where it is fully underwritten or a simplified issue type policy where there are no medical tests and series of health questions. They also gonna wanna decide if they want Term Insurance where the rates start off lower and go up as you get older or if they want a permanent policy where they start off a bit higher but never get up as you get older.
When you looking into your life insurance, you gonna wanna work with an independent broker who can find you the best deal and the best plan for your particular situation.”
Seniors’ life insurance, if you are not looking for huge coverage, is quite affordable, especially if you can qualify for more cost efficient insurance types.
Your age matters though – while you are 60 or 65 you can easily qualify for much cheaper insurance policies which will not be available to you if you are 80 ore 85.
Life insurance for seniors comes in three major shapes and forms: Standard (also called Traditional Life Insurance), Simplified Issue Life Insurance, and Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance.
“Young” seniors aged 60-65 can easily qualify for standard life insurance for seniors, whereas if you are in your 70’s or 80’s you might need to go for a Simplified Issue Life Insurance for Seniors, or Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance.
There are two major types of life insurance for seniors with no medical exam:
Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance (also called Guaranteed Life Insurance) has nearly zero hurdles to get a policy but it would cost you more for the same amount of coverage as Simplified Issue Life Insurance.
If you are over 80 years old, insurance companies typically treat you a bit differently than younger seniors. As a rule, some life insurance policies such as traditional term life insurance policies will not be available to you.
At the same time, there are several avenues that are open to you in the form of no medical life insurance. You are often able to qualify for guaranteed issue life insurance (also called guaranteed life insurance) policies and, in some cases can also qualify for a simplified issue life insurance policy. Our insurance specialists can find you a tailored life insurance plan for seniors.
