What to Consider When Buying Life Insurance Over the Age of 65

Buying life insurance over the age of 65 is an important part of your financial plan. It also provides peace of mind for your family.

However, after you reach 65, you will likely discover your life insurance needs are different from those in the past. Chances are, your children are grown and moved, and you may have paid off a lot of your existing debt. You may have also retired or currently planning a retirement.

Because of this, turning 65 is often viewed as a “natural revaluation” period for life insurance. Before this age, you may have been concerned about dying early and not providing enough support for your spouse or paying for your kids’ college. Now that you are 65, all this has likely changed.

If you are ready to purchase life insurance and are 65 years old or more, use the tips and information here to ensure you get the right coverage for your current needs.

Spectrum Insurance Group helps clients over 65 plan and get the coverage needed to protect your family today.

The Type of Policy

There are two main types of life insurance coverage options you can choose from:

• Term life coverage
• Permanent life coverage

Term coverage will expire when the set term is over. These usually span for 10, 20, or 30 years. Usually, term policies are more affordable since most people will outlive them.

Permanent life insurance will last for your life and may offer a cash value benefit you can tap into while you are still alive. Even though the policy costs more, your premium rate is locked for life rather than dealing with a premium that goes up as you get older.

The Policy Benefit

When selecting your life insurance policy, you also need to consider how much death benefit you want to have. The death benefit is the amount of money your beneficiaries will receive when you die. Some people want just enough to cover their end-of-life costs. Others may prefer a policy that provides additional funds to pay off debt or cover educational expenses for children and grandchildren.

Customer Service Considerations

Before you buy a life insurance policy, it’s a good idea to research the customer service reviews left by other customers. At some point, you may need to make changes to your policy. When this happens, you want to make sure you are working with a company that is known for taking care of its policyholders. However do consider the source of the reviews as you want to make sure you are getting the best information about each carrier and their financial status. At Spectrum Insurance Group we only work with carrier that have never failed to pay a valid death claim.

Financial Stability

You need to ensure you purchase a policy from a company with a strong history of paying policies out. Look at the financial strength ratings to determine if a company has a good reputation for this or not. Most clients want to make sure that the carrier has an A-rating or better from A.M. Best.

Some examples of top rated carriers by A.M. Best that should be considered for life insurance over age 65 would be-

Protective Life Insurance Company with an A+ rating

Banner Life Insurance with an A+ rating

Lincoln Financial Group with an A+ rating

Prudential Life Insurance with an A+ rating

American General Life Insurance (AIG) with an A rating

Foresters Financial with an A rating

Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company with an A+ rating

Penn Mutual Life Insurance with an A+ rating

Purchasing the Right Type of Life Insurance

If you are over the age of 65, you must purchase the right type of life insurance based on your current needs. Being informed and knowing what to consider will help you with this important decision. You can also work with our professional independent agents who can provide even more advice and guidance about this important purchase. Keep this in mind as you begin planning for the rest of your life.