Posts Tagged ‘elder care’
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Can you believe how many seniors do not have a life insurance policy?
There may be some people who never bought a policy, but I think most younger people purchase coverage at some point. They tend to let it lapse or expire without replacing it. Some workers get covered through jobs, but then quit or retire, and then lose the employee benefits. But just because older people lack coverage does not mean they do not want or desire that coverage. Some could use it to help settle a business, pass on wealth, or even pay for a funeral. Older people can still find reasons to purchase a policy!
No matter what the reason, lots of mature people, from the middle aged to the elderly, are looking for more life insurance. Life insurance companies are responding with insurance products that are designed for older clients. Actually, many older people can find rates that are fairly affordable, especially if they are still in reasonable health. But older people, even with health problems, can still find coverage. Of course, a normal insurance policy will cost more for a sixty year old than it would for a thirty year old, all other things being equal, but older people can have many things in their favor.
There are many things that a senior can do to keep premiums lower too. Good health habits are one key. Insurers usually offer the best rates to people who do not smoke, and who keep themselves fit. Many seniors have lived for many years because they have adopted good health habits. They may also take care of their financial life. Many top insurers look into credit reports too.
One more thing to consider when looking for life insurance for an older adult is that the amount of coverage, or life insurance need, may be less. Mature people may not need to cover the whole mortgage or plan for their children’s education anymore. Instead of having to consider a policy with a death benefit of hundreds of thousands of dollars, a few thousand dollars may be enough. Maybe a mature person just wants to leave their family enough money to pay for a funeral and settle debts, with perhaps a little left over as an estate. Instead of looking for life insurance policies with death benefits in the hundreds of thousands, a few tens of thousands may be enough life insurance coverage! Life insurance companies are more willing to offer policies to older, and perhaps sicker, people if the face value is lower because their risk is less. And of course, the cost of insurance will be less when the amount is smaller.
Term life insurance is popular with younger families because it usually has the lowest monthly premiums. However and older person who is looking for a smaller face value policy will usually buy a permanent policy like whole life or universal life. This type of life insurance, in addition to providing a death benefit, can also build a cash value. So it can be more than a life insurance policy, but also a savings vehicle, and an asset that can be borrowed against or cashed in should the need arise. Some retired people will even sell their life insurance policy, before they die, to a life settlement company. They can use the cash to meet their needs while they are still alive.
May we help you look for over 70 life insurance ? Find out if you are too old for life insurance..
Tags: affordable life insurance, baby boomers, elder care, family, life insurance, senior citizens, whole life insurance Posted in affordable life insurance | No Comments »
Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Can a person in their middle years or senior years still buy life insurance? If you are over 50, or if you are caring for an older person, you can find a wide choice of products. Since statistics show that Americans are living longer and healthier lives, insurers are willing to extend affordable coverage to older people. Most middle aged and older people can still find life insurance policies.
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.
So, why don’t we have life insurance? Well, that term policy only lasted for 20 or 30 years. Thankfully, we outlived it. Or we had group coverage at work, but we are not at that job any more. We are older now, but we do not have any coverage.
What life insurance should older people look for? Before you buy anything, you should think about why you want to buy a policy. Do you just want coverage to make sure your kids or spouse have money? Or do you want to build an asset that may help you in the future? Finaly, you may want to use your policy to help transfer wealth to your family?
If you just want insurance, consider term. Premiums are cheaper anyway, and that will be important because an older person is likely to cost more to cover than a younger person. Even if you are middle aged, or in retirement age, you may still be able to find an affordable term policy.
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.
Learn more about Term Life for Older people.
Tags: baby boomers, elder care, Estate planning, finance, Financial Planning, insurance, life insurance, over 50, senior life insurance, seniors, term life insurance, whole life insurance Posted in senior life insurance | No Comments »
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
Lots of us are looking at our retirement planning, and we just wish we could be sure that we could leave more money to our kids or grand kids. We may have a lump sum of cash we could set aside, but wonder how it could grow so we can leave a nice cash estate behind us. A product called Single Premium Life Insurace may be a good option to consider.
Single premium whole life insurance is not much different than the regular policies you are used to. But instead of making multiple payments every month, quarterly, or annually, you simply fund it with one large upfront payment.
This sound simple, but it does make this product a little different than other types of coverage you may have purchased before. It is whole life insurance and that one payment can guarantee lifetime coverage. In addition, the amount of the face value you can buy will usually be much larger than the actual cash you put into it. So this may be a great option if you want to turn a smaller lump sum of money into a much larger inheritance.
Let us say that a retired school teacher is comfortable with her pension and savings. In this example, she just inherited $22,000 from an uncle, and is certain that she will not need to use this money to enjoy her life. She may be able to take this amount of money and buy a $100,000 SPLI policy so she can have a very nice estate to pass on to her son.
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.
Who should consider single premium life (SPL)? It is something to consider if you have a lump sum of cash that you would like to leave to your heirs. Your children, grandchildren, or a favorite charity could be the beneficiaries.
Be aware that your insurer will probably charge you for early surrenders. So if you do have to cash out before the term of these fees, you could lose money. Policies are different, so make sure you know how this will work for you.
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.
Many policies also have accelerated death benefit provisions. If the insured person is terminally ill, some of the death benefit can be used to provide care while that person is alive. Some also have nursing home provisions, so this can be a good way of planning for that possible need without another long term care insurance policy.
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 help you figure out if Single Premium Life Insurance will work for your family!
Tags: affordable life insurance, elder care, estates, finance, insurance, retirement, seniors, single premium whole life, wealth, whole life insurance Posted in affordable life insurance | No Comments »
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