Buying Burial & Life Insurance for Grandparents
Posted in Burial Insurance last updated on March 8, 2024Yes, you can buy life insurance for grandparents. The reason you need life insurance for grandparents is to pay funeral expenses and any other end of life expenses they leave behind. You do not want to be left with the financial burden of paying your grandparents final expenses.
In this article we are going to guide you on the right life insurance to purchase for grandparents as well as how to apply for a policy with your grandparents.
Table of contents
Buying Life Insurance for my Grandparents
You can purchase a life insurance policy for your grandparents. The life insurance company does need to have your grandparents consent in the form of either electronic signature, voice signature or ink signature. This depends on how the policy is being applied for with the life insurance company.
Life insurance companies look at the health and prescription history of an applicant for insurability. In addition to this depending on the life insurance policy(term or 50,000+ of whole life) there could also be a medical exam. This is standard for life insurance policies like term life insurance and some types of whole life insurance.
Since life insurance companies look at all that information your grandparent needs to be apart of the application process. This is so they can provide consent and you can show insurable interest.
As long as there is insurable interest for your grandparent and their consent you can purchase life insurance for them. That is how you get life insurance for your grandparents, they need to know you are applying for life insurance for them.
How to Get Life Insurance on Grandparents
It is a very simple process for purchasing life insurance for grandparents. First make sure you have an insurable interest in your grandparents. After this the steps are as follows:
- Work with an independent agent like us
- Have your grandparent or parents with you when applying
- Have medications and pre existing conditions ready to provide to your agent
- Fill out the application with your agent and answer health questions
- Do e-mail signature or voice signature depending on the life insurance company
- Schedule and Take a Paramedical Exam if Applicable
- An underwriting decision of approval or denial is reached.
Those are the simple steps to buying life insurance coverage for grandparents. Now as we mentioned the life insurance company is going to see if your grandparents are in good health.
They will check for pre existing conditions in your grandparents medical history and prescription history. However if you are applying for burial insurance for them the insurance company will only do typically a 2 – 3 year look back on medical history and health conditions.
If you apply for term life insurance policies or other permanent coverage they will do a 5 – 10 year look back for pre existing medical conditions.
Best Life Insurance for Grandparents
Final expense insurance is the best life insurance for grandparents. If you are looking for a life insurance policy to pay for funeral expenses so the financial burden does not fall on you. A final expense life insurance policy is designed for final expenses hence the name “final expense”.
Final Expense Insurance
This type of life insurance policy is a small simplified issue whole life insurance & guaranteed issue life. These life insurance policies have coverage amounts between $2,000 – $50,000 depending on the life insurance companies.
Reasons to Purchase
Paying for funeral costs, outstanding medical bills and other expenses left behind.
Benefits of Final Expense Insurance
- Permanent life insurance
- Death Benefit Never Decreases
- Premiums Never Increase
- No Medical Exam
Term Life Insurance
A term life insurance policy would only be good for your grandparents if they are between 50 – 70 years old in most cases. This is because a term life insurance policy is temporary life insurance. A life insurance policy like this can provide between $50,000 – $1,000,000 in life insurance death benefit but it will only last for between 20 – 30 years.
In addition to this if your grandparent is a senior over 80 the most they could get is a 10 year term policy if they can even pass the medical exam. Term life insurance is meant to be mortgage protection for younger consumers wanting to make sure their mortgage is paid incase they die suddenly.
Term life insurance is not a permanent life insurance policy
Reasons to Purchase
Paying off a mortgage or other assets on a loan, providing family income.
Benefits of Term Life Insurance
- High Death Benefit Amounts $100,000 – $1,000,000
- Cheaper than Whole Life Insurance
Universal Life Insurance
A universal life insurance policy is a whole life insurance plan with coverage amounts between $100,000 – $1,000,000. However it is different from final expense insurance. A universal life policy is meant as a funding vehicle for retirement to build the universal life policies cash value.
Now you still have the permanent insurance that will provide a full death benefit to the beneficiary.
However these types of life insurance policies are used for their cash value component. The biggest drawback to these life insurance policies is their strict underwriting. Unlike final expense coverage this life insurance coverage is a fully underwritten whole life insurance which means the applicant will have to take a medical exam to qualify.
Strict Underwriting Hard to Qualify
Life insurance companies will look at everything on a persons health history, prescriptions and medical exam for these life insurance policies.
If the applicant has any serious prior health issues or bad results found on the medical exam they will be denied.
We have seen many applicants get turned down for this type of whole life insurance policy due to health history.
This is why final expense policies for seniors such as grandparents are much more beneficial due to the simplified underwriting. Even if you have health issues burial insurance has a much higher chance of approving you regardless of your health history.
You also need to overfund a universal life policy in order to build the cash value in it. This means you need to pay an additional amount to your monthly premium. If you are looking to buy life insurance for your grandparents to help with their retirement this whole life insurance is for them.
Reasons to Purchase
Retirement income, Death Benefits, provide financial security, the investment component, provide lifelong coverage.
Benefits of Universal Whole Life Insurance Policies
- High Death Benefit Amounts $100,000 – $1,000,000
- Cash Value Accumulation
- Permanent Coverage
How to Choose the Right Life Insurance Policy When Buying Life Insurance for Grandparents
Choosing the right policy for your grandparents is important when you are buying life insurance for grandparents. The first method to choosing the right policy is what is their life insurance needs?
Common Needs for Life Insurance
- Covering funeral costs – Final Expense
- Covering a Mortgage or Family Income – Term Coverage
- Retirement Income Planning – Universal life insurance coverage
Now that you know the need for buying life insurance, what is the health status?
Health Status
- Poor – Final Expense
- Moderate – Final Expense, Term, Universal
- Optimal – Final Expense, Term, Universal
So if you know what they need it for and how their health is now what is their age? This is extremely important when buying life insurance for grandparents.
Recommendations by Age
- Ages 50 – 75 – Burial coverage, Term, Universal
- Ages 75 – 80 – Burial coverage, Universal
- Ages 80 – 90 – Burial coverage
Deciding on how much coverage they need is important. In addition to this their health status and age plays a major factor in what they will qualify for.
For example an 80 year old cannot get more than a 10 year term life policy. This means if they reach age 90 and outlive the policy you will be stuck with their burial expenses. If the term life policy expires there will be no full death benefit paid to you to take care of the burial.
That is why whole life is better than term life for seniors because it will last their entire life.
Sample Life Insurance Quotes for Grandparents
Now if you are thinking of buying life insurance for grandparents you probably want to know the cost of life insurance for grandparents. Below is a pricing table with life insurance rates taken directly from out quoting technology.
You will also see the recommended best burial insurance companies we represent.
| Age | $10,000 Male Non Smoker Sample Quotes | $10,000 Male Smoker Sample Quotes | $10,000 Female Non Smoker Sample Quotes | $10,000 Female Smoker Sample Quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $28.29 | $39.47 | $23.56 | $30.14 |
| 51 | $29.26 | $40.77 | $24.48 | $31.06 |
| 52 | $30.31 | $42.22 | $25.09 | $32.72 |
| 53 | $31.47 | $43.83 | $25.62 | $34.54 |
| 54 | $32.77 | $45.44 | $26.26 | $38.99 |
| 55 | $34.25 | $48.12 | $27.11 | $40.85 |
| 56 | $35.88 | $52.06 | $28.20 | $42.71 |
| 57 | $37.69 | $54.25 | $29.51 | $42.30 |
| 58 | $39.64 | $56.72 | $31.70 | $43.61 |
| 59 | $40.10 | $55.60 | $31.00 | $44.50 |
| 60 | $41.84 | $56.72 | $31.70 | $43.61 |
| 61 | $43.76 | $59.64 | $32.87 | $45.19 |
| 62 | $46.41 | $63.28 | $34.51 | $47.48 |
| 63 | $49.07 | $67.72 | $36.06 | $49.78 |
| 64 | $51.22 | $69.53 | $37.72 | $52.07 |
| 65 | $53.58 | $72.72 | $39.36 | $54.36 |
| 66 | $56.48 | $76.06 | $41.01 | $56.66 |
| 67 | $59.85 | $80.53 | $43.44 | $60.22 |
| 68 | $63.18 | $84.67 | $45.86 | $63.60 |
| 69 | $66.84 | $89.65 | $48.29 | $66.09 |
| 70 | $70.79 | $94.64 | $50.81 | $70.45 |
| 71 | $73.15 | $98.31 | $53.24 | $72.18 |
| 72 | $78.81 | $103.97 | $56.20 | $75.86 |
| 73 | $83.99 | $109.94 | $58.46 | $79.74 |
| 74 | $89.46 | $116.69 | $63.55 | $84.14 |
| 75 | $94.87 | $123.65 | $67.78 | $88.66 |
| 76 | $99.97 | $132.48 | $72.41 | $94.42 |
| 77 | $107.04 | $141.32 | $78.25 | $101.63 |
| 78 | $114.13 | $150.57 | $83.51 | $108.24 |
| 79 | $122.13 | $161.81 | $88.44 | $115.15 |
| 80 | $129.52 | $171.23 | $93.41 | $125.01 |
| 81 | $139.73 | $181.75 | $98.43 | $135.14 |
| 82 | $149.95 | $192.98 | $106.21 | $147.04 |
| 83 | $160.16 | $204.65 | $113.96 | $160.56 |
| 84 | $171.02 | $219.19 | $121.31 | $170.76 |
| 85 | $181.88 | $237.28 | $128.55 | $179.58 |
| 86 | $192.74 | $257.57 | $135.90 | $192.35 |
| 87 | $236.25 | $337.32 | $171.33 | $237.32 |
| 88 | $276.68 | $353.99 | $205.98 | $253.99 |
| 89 | $317.10 | $370.65 | $240.63 | $278.99 |
| 90 | $357.53 | $378.98 | $275.28 | $303.99 |