Article on: Over 65 Life Insurance


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life insurance over 65 years old

3 Reasons for ‘Life Insurance for Over 65’?

  1. You still need to provide for your Family
  2. You still have a Mortgage, Loan & Bills to pay
  3. You still intend to carry on working for a while yet

3 Main Types – Over 65 Life Insurance in 2024

  • Over 65 Whole of life assurance (YES > Medical & lifestyle evidence)
  • Term life insurance Over 65 (YES > Medical & lifestyle evidence)
  • Over 65s life insurance cover (NO > medical or lifestyle evidence)
life insurance over 65 years old

* Life Insurance Over 65 No Medical

Life insurance over 65 no medical exam | General Key Features
  • 1 or 2 years exclusion period before any natural causes death claims
  • Sold as Over 50’s plans not branded as Life Cover over 65
  • There are usually no in depth medical & lifestyle questions to qualify
  • Smoker or vaper status is asked & affects life cover pricing
  • Accidental death claims only during this initial exclusion period
  • Refund of premiums only if you die of natural causes during this exclusion period
  • Insurers may stop taking premiums from age 90/95 but maintain your lifecover
  • These life insurance over 65 no medical exam plans are rest of life or whole of life meaning indefinate cover
Over 65 Life Insurance Free Gift
Over 65 Insurance with a Free Gift | Is that a Good Deal ?
Life Cover over 65 no medical exam | General Key Features
  • Age at entry usually up to age 85 dependant on Insurers
  • Most life insurance for over 65’s no medical plans available on a single life basis only
  • Providers may limit premiums per plan or a total amount of Lifecover per person
  • Fixed premiums usually on these life insurance for over 65 years old & no investment cash in values
  • Lower life insurance levels generally offered versus other life insurance over 65s uk plans
  • Compared and bought sometimes just for their free gifts
  • Can often pay in more to the policy than the life cover amount paid out
  • Many use Over 65’s plans toward funeral funding than family life cover or prepay funeral plan
  • Funeral benefit option may top up £250 | £300 for Funeral directors eg; Dignity or COOP

CONCLUSION: Best Life Insurance for Over 65 | If generally in Poor Health

life insurance for over 65 years old uk

* Whole Life Insurance Over 65 – Medical evidence

General Key Features

  • Policy is underwritten insurance so Insurers do ask medical & lifestyle questions before offering cover
  • Whole life assurance means you covered even if life expectancy is until 190
  • Terminal Illness is often included for free on best whole life insurance for over 65 plans
  • It means you sadly have less than 12 months to live, so pays out earlier ‘death claim’ in advance
  • Could involve GP reports and medical tests before agreeing underwriting terms
  • Deals usually available for those who have no real serious health or lifestyle issues
  • Age at entry available over age 65 and dependant on over 65 insurance providers
  • Even if you do have some medical issues Insurers may still try to offer a policy
  • Immediate cover with no initial exclusion period before a whole of life insurance claim
  • Suicide exclusion clauses may initially apply on life insurance over 65 years old plans
  • Own life, dual life or joint life cover upon death or terminal illness
  • Plan options for fixed or reviewable premiums and must be paid for rest of life ie; until a claim

CONCLUSION: Best Whole Life Insurance for Over 65 | If fit & healthy

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* Term ‘Life Insurance Over 65’ – Medical evidence

General Key Features

  • Term Life Insurance over 65 is ‘underwritten’ cover but only for a fixed term ie; max available upto age 90
  • Unlike whole life insurance you may live out that term period leaving no lifecover after
  • Terminal Illness is also included for free on life insurance over 65s term plans
  • May have much more affordable costs than whole life assurance as the plan runs a defined term
  • Age at entry available for affordable life insurance over 65 is dependant on Insurers
  • Once underwritten, this Life Cover Over 65 has no initial exclusion period before claim
  • Suicide exclusion clauses apply on level term life insurance policy
  • Premiums usually fixed and have to be paid for life of the policy term with no cash value
  • Over 65 life insurance rates on plans can be level, decreasing, increasing
  • Lump Sums or Family Income Benefits options on life insurance at age 65 on death
  • Options of own life or joint life policies
  • Life Cover upto age 90 as a bills back up plan instead

CONCLUSION: Best Life Insurance for Over 65 | No cover need after age 90

life expectancy uk calculator
Average Life Expectancy in UK | Calculator

‘Life Insurance Over 65’ & Covid 19

  • You are covered is the answer re Coronavirus / Covid 19 for most Insurers
  • Over 65 no medical exam plans usually have initial 1 or 2 years exclusion period anyway before death claims
  • Some Insurers have waived their waiting periods on plans taken out before Covid 19 was known
  • Underwritten life insurance for over 65 years plans will ask specific Covid related questions to proceed
  • Valid as long as you honestly answered the Insurers questions at the time of application
  • The policy must not have lapsed & the premiums must be up to date

CONCLUSION: Insurers still accepting Over 65 Life Cover in 2020’s Covid Pandemic

life insurance quotes over 65

FAQ Broker Questions

Joint Life or Single Life Cover?

  • Single life cover policy is setup on the sole life & death of a policyholder
  • A joint life 1’st death policy may pay out on the death or claim on that 1’st policyholder. Then it ends.
  • Joint life 2’nd death policy pays on last death eg; This may usually be used for Inheritance tax cover
  • Insurers may setup a joint life plan to repay a joint mortgage
  • Family life cover may be setup either joint life 1’st death insurance or 2 x single policies or ‘dual life’

Summary: 2 single or separate life plans are often more costly, as they may payout twice

Level or Increasing Cover ?

  • You can usually only opt for the cover as level or increasing from outset
  • Level term policies always stay at that fixed amount & so may the premium
  • Increasing cover may adjust annually – to help offset increasing yearly living costs & rising bills
  • This cover increase maybe via retail price index RPI; annual earnings AEI; a fixed amount eg; 5%
  • Another benefit of increasing cover is – Insurers may usually increase cover without further medical evidence

Tax Benefits

  • Policy benefits in the UK are paid out income tax free upon claim
  • Once any payout claim is made it may then be subject to inheritance tax (see trust section below)
  • There is no tax relief now on premiums re any new personal life plans
  • Certain older pension term plans however once offered a tax relief
  • Relevant business life cover offers a tax deductable tax benefit

Tree of life | Insurance for death

Critical Illness v Terminal Illness

You are perhaps looking to save money on your existing life policy, as their premiums sound expensive. The existing policy includes critical illness benefit, which sounds like the same as terminal illness benefit. You look online & see much cheaper premiums for a policy with terminal illness, which you think has the same meaning.

So you go ahead and cancel your old critical illness plan. Only upon being diagnosed with a cancer, heart attack, MS or stroke do you then sadly find out that your old critical illness plan may then have actually paid out. Your new plan may only payout if you are diagnosed terminally ill ie; have less than 12 months to live, so you receive no payment. Unfortunately as brokers we say people often can misunderstand insurers jargon terminology.

Should I put my Life Insurance policy into Trust?

When any life policy isn’t written into trust, it will be paid to the executors of the deceased’s estate. They will handle the administration, known as probate in N Ireland, England, Wales and confirmation in Scotland. If not, the benefits will fall into your estate if you died prematurely. If you have not made a will, this can then cause further complications with the life insurance monies.

Until probate is fully granted, no monies can be paid out to those named in the will. On average, this can take upto 6 months. By not placing the plan into trust may also swell up the total estate values, leading to potentially Inheritance Tax IHT issues ie; your cheap life insurance for over 65 could now become very expensive, as there is an additional tax bill to pay for your loved ones.

So placing a policy in trust can help to ensure that the policy proceeds go to the correct beneficiaries you decide to nominate at that stage. It can also help avoid possible probate delays & IHT costs. Ask the Insurers to kindly provide their available standard trust form wordings & seek legal advice if unsure.

'life insurance for over 65'
* source thesaurus plus

Importance of Disclosure & Claims?

All Insurers are in business to protect, insure & payout. Insurance cover is therefore based on your full disclosure at the time you took the original over 65s life insurance policy out ie; being 100% as honest & accurate as possible. It is not always easy to remember all your historic health details when applying if medical questions are asked. The Consumer Insurance Act 2013 says you must not be acting careless, deliberate or reckless when applying. eg; Don’t advise a familial history of high blood pressure or cholesterol as the rates maybe higher. So, in this instance your cheap insurance could become very expensive.

Should you make a claim, your Insurers will send you a claim form for you to complete. Once received back, they will usually contact your GP to confirm any health details. They will then assess if your life insurance over 65 uk claim is valid and cross check if you originally disclosed all the correct details.

Note: If you apply for a no medical life insurance policy, they often will still ask your smoking status. If you look at most Insurers recent claims payout, you will see that it maybe good but often not 100%.

What if my health or lifestyle changes after taking the policy out?

Any health or lifestyle changes since, usually does not void your existing policy, if it wasn’t relevant at that time of initial application. It maybe the Insurers request GP reports when you originally apply, to check any health details disclosed. Likewise they may not.

Take care to doubly re-check on your application what you initially disclosed to the Insurers, as this information then stands now and in the future. For example, you quit smoking for a year before the over 65 policy but then started again afterwards. Please check your original ‘life insurance for over 65’ T&C’s.

Life cover over sixty five

Summary

  • Medically underwritten life cover may usually offer much better value
  • Whole lifecover if it has to payout whenever & Term Lifecover upto 90 if not
  • No medical lifecover plans are often useful if you have serious health issues
  • Like all life insurance, if you start to miss any premiums your cover may lapse
  • Rising Funeral costs inflation may effect level cover payouts
  • Check if the life policy can be put into trust to help avoid probate delays & Inheritance Tax IHT
  • Gender Neutral rates for male or female over 65
  • Often similar Over 50’s lifecover seen advertised on TV and endorsed by personalities
  • Don’t be persuaded to buy a plan just to get a free pen or gift voucher
  • Martin Lewis isn’t a fan of Over 50’s no medical style schemes if in good health

CONCLUSION On ‘Over 65 Life Insurance:

In conclusion, even if you are Over 65 life insurance choices are still available in the Uk marketplace.

However, we would always suggest you approach a broker first, as often many direct providers may not always offer best value cover.

Money Saving Expert also says never blindly buy direct from a bank or provider. Note: Martin Lewis on Over 60’s Life Insurance is a fan of no medical style plans BUT only if you have any pre-existing serious health problems eg; raised BMI obese, heart issues, heavy smokers etc;

We agree because if you are of average to good health, then your other protection options are more than likely better overall value.

Please read about your 3 main options before making any decisions. Looking for Over 65 Life Insurance? Please Contact Us

Article on ‘Over 65 Life Insuranceby Martyn Spencer Financial Adviser (2024)

For reassurance re health for men & women – we review many of the best Life Insurers selling Life Insurance in UK (inc NI)