Over 50s life insurance

A term life insurance policy covers you for a specific time period. Over 50s life insurance covers you for the whole of your life – as long as you keep up with your premiums.

Unlike term life insurance, over 50s life insurance policies offer guaranteed acceptance without medical evidence.

Life insurance is worth thinking about at any age. Because there’s no medical check, over 50 plans could be suitable if you’re in poor health and don’t expect to live a long life.

If you have family members you want to look after or you simply want to leave behind a gift, a life insurance policy is worth considering.

If you miss a payment on your policy, it could lapse. This means you won’t be covered should the worst happen. If your policy lapses, you won’t be refunded any of your previous payments.

Over 50s life insurance isn’t a savings or investment product. It has no cash value, which is why your plan may be cancelled if you stop paying your premiums.

When you miss a payment, a ‘grace period’ activates. This gives you time to meet your payment before your policy lapses. If you don’t make your payment in time, your policy will be invalid.

Read your documents carefully and make a note of your grace period. If you’re at all unsure, speak to your insurance provider as soon as possible.

The benefit amount is the amount a life insurance policy should pay out when the policyholder dies.

Different life insurance policies have different benefit amounts. When you take out a policy, it’s important to consider the benefit amount versus the monthly premium.

This is especially worth doing if you’ve only just turned 50 and are considering an over 50 life insurance policy. If the policy isn’t cashed in until you’re much older, will you end up paying in more than the policy pays out?

With some life insurance, particularly over 50s policies, there’s usually a waiting time – or qualification period – during which you won’t be covered if you die. This varies among insurance providers but is usually between 12 and 24 months.

Once the qualification period is over, you’ll be fully covered.

Some life insurance providers cover accidental death immediately.

The qualification period for over 50s life insurance is typically between one and two years.

If you die during that time, the pay-out to your beneficiaries will be calculated using the amount you’ve paid in. The pay-out will vary, depending on your insurance provider, so make sure you know the specifics of a policy before taking it out.

It’s worth considering inflation when buying an over 50 policy because any pay-out is fixed.

If you take out a policy when you turn 50 but live to 80, your pay-out won’t have the same value. For that reason, it may be worth increasing your cover, but as no one knows what’s in the future you’ll need to use your own judgement.

Writing a life insurance policy in trust allows you to legally separate your policy pay-out from your estate. Depending on the value of your assets, this could protect it from inheritance tax.

Choose your trustee(s) carefully, though, as they’ll be responsible for making sure your pay-out is used as you intended.

If you already have a life insurance policy you want to put in trust, you can usually arrange this through a solicitor or financial advisor.

There are plenty of providers who offer senior life insurance policies for people between the ages of 50 and 80. But while over 50 life insurance offers guaranteed acceptance if you’re aged between 50 and 79, specific over 70s life insurance policies might require you to give more detailed information.

You can get an over 50 life policy if you’re terminally ill because you don’t need to provide health information when you apply.

But the policy may not pay out if you die before the qualification or waiting period ends. This is typically one or two years after you take out your policy.