While we all grow old, many of us do not harbor an understanding of the necessity that is life insurance, especially seniors. Maturing is hard enough without worrying about the fiscal plan you’re leaving behind for your children and grandchildren. Rather than force elders to endlessly peruse through the internet, I have decided to author this quick and easy guide for a few simple tips so that those of us in retirement can have a foundational framework when searching to decrease the expense of life insurance.
Do not purchase unnecessary benefits.
Life is dynamic. Considering such, many of the benefits we need at one point in time, we no longer need later in life. To understand insurance, this is a fundamental principle. For instance, many parents are paying more money when they are younger because they are supporting children, and then paying for said children’s college. However, once the children move out, the financial obligations of said parents decrease tremendously. When this happens (or any obligations diminish), you should make sure your insurance plan reflects such. When financial commitments decrease, so should your insurance.
Work a job.
When seniors are working, they may very well be able to take advantage of their employer’s life insurance plan. Even in the event that the employer does not offer insurance, there are many other groups that may be able to supplement the cost. All you need to do is a little research to find the right plan for you.
Do a price-comparison between companies.
As with any purchase in our capitalistic society, different companies offer different prices. This being said, many companies actually price age groups differently. There is no one universal understanding of what to charge each age group. Thus, it is worth your time to shop around a little and see what each company is offering as per your individual situation, be it age or income or location or anything else. Remember that you don’t need to buy too much and that if a group rate is available, you should take advantage.
Take note of different kinds of insurance.
You should also keep in mind that in the above text I am referring to term life insurance. However, it is plausible that term life insurance may not be accessible and so you will have to resort to whole life or guaranteed issue life insurance; and should that be the case, you should be prepared.
I would consider purchasing a whole life policy that doesn’t heavily rely on large cash values. This way, you are essentially creating a unique, personal, term life policy. However, you may also want to consider guaranteed issue life insurance.
Mostly anyone can purchase this sort of plan no matter their health or age. However, this open admission implies strings attached, and there certainly are strings attached. One, the coverage itself is usually not the best. Two, it generally only pays out to 100,000$. Not to mention, you have to survive 2 or 3 years for the policy to take effect while you’re paying significant premiums in the meantime.
Regardless of what you decide, I hope this helps in your quest through the complicated and treacherous waters of attaining life insurance. Good luck and godspeed!
