Life Insurance for Over 65: Guide to Peace of Mind

If you are wondering is it worth having, how much is and can you even get life insurance for over 65? Keep reading because yes you can get final expense insurance for seniors, term life insurance and universal life insurance for over 65.

Now the real question is which one of these options best fit your needs for a life insurance policy.

Life insurance policies are designed for our families with the expenses we leave behind that they have to take care of.

This is why final expense insurance is used as burial insurance or funeral insurance and term life insurance policies are used as family income replacement and mortgage protection. Universal life policies are used as family income, asset protection and retirement income.

This article is going to lay it all out for you when it comes to life insurance policies we will cover exactly what type of life insurance you can get as well as the costs of these life insurance policies.

We want you to make an informed decision on what best fits your needs for a life insurance policy.

Can I Get Life Insurance at Age 65?

Yes, you can get term life insurance up to 25 years and final expense life insurance at 65 years old. Now both final expense insurance and term life insurance are designed for different purposes.

Final expense insurance is permanent life insurance to cover your final expense’s which is a burial or cremation for funeral services. Final expense insurance is whole life insurance which means it will never expire as long as you live.

That is why it is best for funeral insurance because with permanent life insurance all you have to do is pay your premiums and when you die your family will receive the death benefit for the funeral costs.

Term life insurance is a temporary policy which means the policy will expire at a certain number of years.

There is no cash value built in these policies once the coverage expires you can renew it for a higher premium amount.

Term life insurance is meant to serve as mortgage protection and financial protection incase you die suddenly and your family relies on your income.

What Type of Life Insurance Should a 65 Year Old Get?

A 65 year old should get term life insurance if they have a 20 – 30 year mortgage with a balance of between $100,000 – $200,000 on it.

If you are a 65 year old on a fixed income with no money saved to cover funeral costs and other end of life expenses you should get final expense insurance.

Now if you are looking to protect assets, leave family income and build cash value for retirement you should get a Universal Life policy.

Health Matters

Both final expense insurance and term life insurance are going to have health questions for their policies.

In addition to this term life insurance will require a medical exam if you are looking for the lowest life insurance rate possible.

Now final expense insurance does not require a medical exam but they do have health questions on their application.

If you are in poor health you will not qualify for a term life insurance policy.

The medical exam will find any health conditions you may have and if they are severe the life insurance company will not offer you coverage.

Final expense policies only have health questions you need to answer there is no medical exam required.

That being said for final expense policies the life insurance company will look at your medical and prescription history using the Medical Information Bureau.

If they find extreme health conditions you will be denied their final expense policies. The good news is you can still get guaranteed issue life insurance policy for final expenses.

That type of life insurance policy does not have health questions or require a medical exam. Acceptance is guaranteed, now with this comes a 2 year graded period for the death benefits to be paid out.

Once you are past the graded period the full death benefits of the policy will be paid to your beneficiary.

Term Life Insurance

Here are a few key things to know if you need a term life insurance policy.

• Optimal Health
• A mortgage or assets cover by a loan you need to protect
• Replacement of family income if you contribute more than 50% of the house hold income

Universal Life Insurance

If you are thinking of Universal Life insurance for over 65 these are several companies available to you(over 5) but they are fully underwritten. This means you will need to take a medical exam, answer health questions and consent to medical history, doctors records and prescription checks.

Now a Universal Life policy is typically used to build its cash value as funds for retirement. This requires contributing additional money with your baseline premium monthly or yearly. These policies offer high coverage amounts between $50,000 – $1,000,000 and over.

These policies can be used to protect assets on a loan being paid off such as a mortgage, business loans etc.

Final Expense Insurance

Here are a few things to know if you need permanent life insurance for final expenses.

Whole life insurance for final expenses is not as strict on underwriting which means getting approved for whole life insurance for final expenses is easier even if you have health conditions like COPD or heart conditions diagnosed over 2 – 3 years ago with no complications.

• Moderate Health
• Funeral expenses, credit card debts, medical bills and other end of life expenses

If you are age 65 and know you will be leaving those funeral costs or other debts behind for your family then you need a final expense insurance policy.

Do you Need Life Insurance at Age 65?

If you know you are leaving behind any kind of end of life expenses then yes you need life insurance at age 65. Life insurance serves as financial protection for your family with the life insurance coverage and its death benefit.

When you die the life insurance coverage pays the death benefit of the policy to your beneficiary. Once this happens your beneficiary will use the death benefit to pay for funeral expenses, mortgage balances or any other financial responsibilities you had when you were alive.

That means there is no financial burden left for your family when you die because they have the life insurance death benefit to use and pay those expenses.

Why have Life Insurance After 65?

If you have permanent life insurance after 65 which is what we strongly recommend, your family will use the death benefit from the whole life insurance to pay funeral expenses.

Now if you died with a term policy the same applies but a bigger death benefit is paid and your family would use it to pay off your house if it is mortgaged.

Now we recommend that after 65 your get whole life insurance because it is permanent life insurance. The reason for this is because the maximum amount of time you can buy life insurance that is temporary is 25 years and that is with one company.

Just below that is a 20 year term policy if you out live the coverage that would make you 85 years old which means all whole life insurance at that particular age will be extremely expensive, limited and you may not be able to qualify for permanent life insurance at that age.

Cost of Final Expense Life Insurance for Over 65

Below you will see life insurance quotes for senior life insurance. We have included both permanent life insurance and term sample life insurance quotes pulled directly from our quoting technology.

This will give you an idea of how much whole life insurance and a term life insurance policy will cost. Life insurance for seniors gets more and more limited as you get older this is why getting the right senior life insurance early and locking in your rate is crucial.

At age 65 we recommend you get whole life insurance to ensure that the rates never increase on you for the life of the whole life insurance policy.

Age	$10,000 Male Non Smoker	$10,000 Male Smoker	$10,000 Female Non Smoker	$10,000 Female Smoker
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

How much is Life Insurance for a 65 year old?

• Term life policy is between $113 – $139 for a $100,000 life insurance policy on a non smoking male at a preferred rate.
• Whole life insurance policy for funeral expenses is between $70 – $90 a month for a $15,000 life insurance policy on a non smoking male with a level benefit.

Best Companies to Get Funeral Insurance for Seniors Over 65

If you are looking to buy funeral insurance at this age because it suits your needs best we have listed the best funeral insurance companies for seniors below.

Mutual of Omaha

Mutual of Omaha burial insurance is the most affordable for seniors and their Mutual of Omaha final expense living promise policy offers up to $50,000. In addition to this it is available to seniors over 80 years old.

	Age Eligibility	Policy Brochure
★★★★★	45-85	Brochure
Policy Features & Benefits	Type of Policy: Whole Life(Lifetime Coverage)	Waiting Period: Graded Plan(yes) Level Plan(no)
	Death Benefit Amounts: $2,000-$50,000	Level Death Benefit(Death Benefit Never Decreases)
	Available States: All Except NY	Level Premiums(Premiums Never Increase)
	Cash Value Builds in Policy	No Medical Exams Required
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider	Allows the insured to access a portion of the policy’s death benefit while alive for various needs such as medical bills, living expenses, and funeral expenses.
Eligibility	Applicable when the insured is diagnosed with a terminal illness (12 months to live) or has been confined to a nursing home for more than 90 days without the expectation of leaving.
Inclusion	Automatically included in the policy at no extra cost.
Accidental Death Benefit Rider	Provides an extra death benefit equal to the policy’s death benefit in case of death resulting from an accident.
Inclusion	Requires an additional charge to be added to the policy.

Prosperity Life

Next up is Prosperity final expense insurance due to their affordable rates and extremely liberal underwriting.

	Age Eligibility	Policy Brochure
★★★★★	55-80	Brochure
Policy Features & Benefits	Type of Policy: Whole Life(Lifetime Coverage)	Waiting Period: Graded & Modified Plans(yes) Level Plan(no)
	Available States: All Except SC,SD,CT,MT,NY,ND	Level Premiums(Premiums Never Increase)
	Cash Value Builds in Policy	No Medical Exam Required
	Death Benefit Amounts: $5,000-$35,000	Level Death Benefit(Death Benefit Never Decreases)
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider	Allows the insured to access the policy death benefit in the event of a terminal illness, providing funds for various needs such as living expenses or early funeral expenses.
Accidental Death Benefit Rider	Doubles the policy payout if death is a result of an accident, operating similarly to other accidental riders.

Aetna Accendo

Aetna funeral insurance is perfect for seniors over 85 years old. In addition to this they are very friendly to breathing conditions such as COPD.

	Age Eligibility	Policy Brochure
★★★★★	40-89(Preferred & Standard Plans) 40-75(Modified Plan)	Brochure
Policy Features & Benefits	Type of Policy: Whole Life (Lifetime Coverage)	Waiting Period: Preferred & Standard Plan(No) Modified Plan(Yes)
	Available States: All Except NY	Level Premiums (Premiums Never Increase)
	Cash Value Builds in Policy	No Medical Exams Required
	Death Benefit Amounts: $2,000-$50,000	Level Death Benefit (Death Benefit Never Decreases)
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider	Allows the insured diagnosed with terminal, critical, or chronic illness with an expected death within 12 months to access 50% of the policy death benefit for various purposes such as bills or funeral planning.
Accidental Death Benefit Rider	Pays out an amount equal to the policy death benefit for accidental death if the insured is between 40 and 70 years old.
Children’s Term Insurance Rider	Children and grandchildren aged 30 days to under 18 years old can be covered for amounts ranging from $2,500 to $10,000 each. The policy can be converted to a whole life policy for the child between the ages of 22 and 25.

American Amicable

American Amicable’s final expense policy is very friendly towards smokers. They offer lower tobacco rates compared to every other final expense policy.

	Age Eligibility	Policy Brochure
★ ★ ★ ★ ★	50-85	Brochure
Policy Features & Benefits	Type of Policy: Whole Life(Lifetime Coverage)	Waiting Period: Immediate Benefit Plan(No) Graded & ROP Plans(Yes)
	Available States: All Except NY	Level Premiums(Premiums Never Increase)
	Cash Value Builds in Policy	No Medical Exams Required
	Death Benefit Amounts: $2,000-$50,000	Level Death Benefit(Death Benefit Never Decreases)
Terminal Ilness Accelerated Death Benefit Rider	Allows the insured diagnosed with a terminal illness to use the entire policy death benefit (100%) for any purpose. If you have a $10,000 policy and are diagnosed with a terminal illness, you can access the full $10,000 for various needs.
Accelerated Death Benefit Rider Confined Care	Provides 5% of the death benefit in monthly payments if the insured is confined to a nursing home 30 days after the policy starts. Can be used for monthly bills or other smaller expenses.
Grandchild Rider	Offers $5,000 life insurance coverage per unit for a grandchild or great grandchild, with a maximum of 2 units totaling $10,000 in coverage. Costs an additional $1.00 on the monthly policy premium per unit for each grandchild.
Children’s Insurance Agreement	Provides up to $6,000 in coverage for each child below age 25. Can be converted to a whole life or endowment policy when the child is over 25. Allows coverage up to 5 times the coverage amount, totaling $30,000, without demonstrating insurability.
Nursing Home Waiver of Premium Rider	Waives premium payments on the policy if the insured is confined to a nursing home for over 90 days, making the insurance essentially free.
Accidental Death Benefit Rider	Doubles the death benefit payout if the insured or loved one dies from an accident, with no additional cost to be added.

Guarantee Trust Life

Guarantee Trust Life burial insurance only has 5 health questions to pass their underwriting. This is one of the easiest plans on the market to qualify for. That being said it does come with a partial waiting period of 2 years.

	Age Eligibility	Policy Brochure
★★★★★	50-90	Brochure
Policy Features & Benefits	Type of Policy: Whole Life(Lifetime Coverage)	Waiting Period: Year 1: ROP+5% Interest Year 2: 50% of Death Benefit Paid Year 3: 100% Death Benefit Paid
	Available States: All Except NY	Level Premiums(Premiums Never Increase)
	Cash Value Builds in Policy	No Medical Exams Required
	Death Benefit Amounts: $2,500-$20,000	Level Death Benefit(Death Benefit Never Decreases)

Should I convert my Term Life Insurance to Whole Life at Age 65?

Yes you should convert your term life insurance policy to a whole life at age 65 because a term life insurance policy will only last between 20 – 25 years from your current age of 65. This means if you out live the policy you will be 85 or 90 years old.

At both those age ranges whole life insurance policies will be extremely expensive and your options will be very limited as far as life insurance companies you can apply with. This is why the best life insurance you can get is final expense at age 65.

Your chances of getting approved by the insurance company are high since you are in a younger age group and final expense does not require a medical exam.

They just have health questions on their applications for whole life and if you answer “no” to all of the questions on the health questionnaire you will be approved for a whole life insurance policy.

When you outlive your term policy all of those big expenses should be paid off which means you do not need that high amount of life insurance anymore.

This is why you can convert to a smaller senior life insurance policy since a lot of those financial responsibilities have been cleared up and the amount of financial protection your family needs has decreased.

Now the most affordable life insurance over the long term its going to be burial insurance since the premium stays locked in for life.

Can you get term life insurance at age 65?

Yes, you can get term coverage at age 65 but it will only last for a maximum of 20 – 25 years and if you outlive it you will not have many options to convert it to.

In addition to this term policies require a medical exam and strict underwriting to even be approved for the best rates.

Their health questions do a 10 year look back on health conditions this is why term policies can be difficult to qualify for if you are age 65.

Term Life Insurance at Age 65 The Facts

Here are some important facts to consider at 65 years old if you want to get a term life policy.

• Are you in extremely good health?
• Can you pass a medical exam?
• If you outlive the life policy will you have any new life insurance options at 85 – 90?
• Do you really need $100,000 or more in coverage compared to your financial responsibilities at your current age?

Conclusion and Best Senior Life Insurance Recommendation

In conclusion we take the position that the best life insurance options for seniors are non medical exam permanent life policies.

They may have smaller coverage amounts but it is meant to spare your family any burden of paying for a funeral which can be $10,000 or more in many cases. This is why we recommend burial insurance as the best life insurance options for seniors.

Since there is no medical exam the policy it can be easy to qualify for and the premium will never increase as long as the policy is in force.

Many insurance companies sell this product with coverage amounts between $10,000 – $50,000. Regardless of your health issues you simply answer a few health questions on their application and you can be approved in 30 minutes or less.