Life insurance for seniors is vital for peace of mind and for protecting family from an unexpected financial blow from an untimely and unplanned for death. Burial costs and funeral activities are an escalating cost today, and most families would be hard put to find the immediate funds to take care of these expensive procedures without the help of a life insurance policy. It’s usually a good way to avoid, or at least reduce, inheritance taxes as well. Little wonder that seniors are very particular and cautious about finding a good solid life insurance policy that will make their eventual passing easier on loved ones.
For those who have not yet invested in a good life insurance policy, or who are wondering if they are getting the best protection for their money, here are some of the things that control insurance policy rates for seniors:
Age, of course, is a primary concern when purchasing life insurance. The earlier this is done in a person’s life the lower the monthly fee is likely to be. Beware of all extravagant claims by insurance companies that they can immediately insure anyone, no matter what age, for hundreds of thousands of dollars — the small print will always reveal so many exceptions that it’s a waste of time and money to pursue.
The insurance industry loves to insure smokers — because they can gouge them for many times more than for a non-smoker. Never lie about this on an insurance application; policies are voided automatically if an unreported period of smoking is even suspected.
Actuaries are not sexist, but their statistics show that men will normally precede women in death. So gender will always influence insurance rates for seniors. And yes, a person who’s had a sex change procedure will still be charged insurance fees according to their original gender.