When you are older than age 80, it can be quite difficult to find qualified life insurance. Fortunately, it is possible to find low-cost life insurance at this age. Though, it won’t be possible without the help of a licensed insurance agent.
When shopping for life insurance for seniors over 80, your best bet is burial insurance. Burial insurance is a highly accessible alternative to traditional life insurance, as you don’t need a medical exam to qualify.
This is great for individuals who have health issues that disqualify them from being approved for traditional life insurance products, like whole life insurance or term life insurance.
So if you were asking, “can you get life insurance for seniors over 80?”, the answer is yes. Here is how.
Life Insurance For Seniors Over 80
If you are over 80 and looking for insurance or you need to insure one of your family members, burial insurance is perfect for you. Burial insurance, which is also known as final expense insurance or funeral insurance, can be used to provide a moderate death benefit for your beneficiaries. You can choose to have the death benefit go directly to a funeral home if you like, as the money is generally used for funeral expenses.
How Does Burial Insurance Work?
Burial insurance offers coverage that provides a death benefit upon the death of the insured. This death benefit ranges from $5,000 to $25,000. Normally, plans with lower death benefits will have lower premium payments to match. The premiums you are sold at are the premiums you will have for the lifetime of your plan. Your policy will last for your entire lifetime, as long as you pay your premiums. This is because burial insurance does not expire with age, like term life insurance does.
Once you are granted coverage, your death benefit will never decrease either. This is good to know, as it provides peace of mind to your loved ones. They can use the money for anything, so being certain of how much they will get can allow them to plan for your funeral and other final expenses.
Cost For Life Insurance Over 80
There are some affordable life insurance options designed for seniors over 80, but they are few and far between. Generally, you can expect to pay $90-$200 for life insurance once you are past age 80. The exact price of your coverage will vary depending on how much coverage you need, your age, state of residence, and your gender.
Coverage Amounts For Seniors Over 80
If you purchase burial insurance, you will need to decide on the amount of coverage you want. Depending on your health status, your application will have underwriting and the insurer will decide how much coverage you qualify for. The minimum for seniors over 80 is around $2,000 usually, while the opposite end of the spectrum is around $25,000.
Some seniors over 80 may be able to qualify for traditional life insurance as well, which could warrant a death benefit up to $100,000. Whether this is possible will depend on health status and your ability to pass a medical exam, though.
Funeral Insurance Application Process
While the process may vary from insurer to insurer, you can expect the funeral insurance application process to look something like this.
Step 1: Get a quote
Before you can purchase a funeral insurance policy that fits your specific needs and budget, you must gather quotes from local providers. This will allow you to get an idea of how much coverage will cost you if you are able to qualify. An insurance agent could be essential in this process, as they have the know-how needed to guide you toward the foremost plans and providers.
Insurance agents typically have access to useful tools that sort through burial insurance plans for them. Using these tools can save you the hassle of finding quotes from each company on your own. In doing so, you can get the best coverage possible without doing much legwork on your own.
For each quote you get, your agent of choice will help you determine if the policy is a good fit for your needs. They’ll also inform you of the price for coverage. Seeing how many policies also ask health questions, an agent can help streamline the application process too. If you ask them to, your agent can pre-screen your health conditions and recommend insurers that are friendly to applicants with health issues similar to yours.
Knowledge is power when it comes to shopping for insurance. Comparing as many options as you can before making a selection is the key to finding the ideal insurance policy. Whether you care more about clearing the application process, acquiring a large death benefit, or paying a certain amount, an agent can help you reach your goal.
In many cases you’ll need the following information to start collecting quotes:
- State of residence – Rates often vary from state to state.
- Birthday – Funeral insurance rates vary depending on age.
- Health class – Whether you have excellent, decent, or poor health will impact the application decision.
- Coverage amount – The size of your death benefit will impact your coverage cost.
- Gender – Funeral insurance rates vary across genders
- Smoker status- If you smoke you are in a higher risk category for insurers. This means your cost for coverage will increase.
- Personal information – Usually some key personal information is needed to acquire quotes as well. Examples include your full name, phone number, and email address.
Step 2: Choose An Affordable Policy
Once you’ve gathered quotes, the next step is selecting a policy that is in your price range. If your preferred choice requires you to answer health questions that result in a price increase, you may need to go with another plan. You never know what level of coverage you can qualify for at which cost, so you should always aim for a target that offers quality coverage at an affordable price.
You can make adjustments to your policy to reduce the price. For example, lower death benefits typically demand lower premium payments. Finding the right carrier and policy structure can result in significant savings over time, without compromising on the quality of the coverage.
Step 3: Fill Out An Application
Once you’ve discovered a company that fits your needs, you need to fill out an application. The application will require you to submit a range of personal information. Some of the information featured in most application’s requirements include:
- Your social security number
- Driver’s license number
- Beneficiary information
- Contingent beneficiary information
- Your doctor’s contact information
You will also be asked about the following:
- Health history
- Family health history
- Prescription medications
- Any dangerous hobbies and activities
- Driving record
- Criminal record
In general, the application process should take between ten and twenty minutes. If you need help filling out an application, you can always ask your insurance agent to assist you. They have filled out hundreds, if not thousands of these forms in most cases. Therefore, you can trust them to provide you with valuable insight that you can use to successfully complete the funeral insurance application process.
Step 4: Interview
Once your application has been submitted, you need to undergo the underwriting process. This normally includes a phone interview that is conducted with one of the insurer’s underwriters. The phone interview is performed to clarify some of the questions you submitted in your application.
During this interview, it is important that you answer honestly when asked questions about your health history, lifestyle, family health history, and any dangerous activities you frequently engage in. Your answers will be used to determine your level of risk to the insurance company. Your rates will be decided based on the results.
Step 5: Wait For underwriting
This step doesn’t really require you to take any action, but it is good to know what exactly is going on while you wait.
Once you’ve submitted your application, you must wait for the insurance underwriters to review your application thoroughly and make a decision. They will be looking at all of your answers to the personal and medical questions, that’s why it’s important that you remain honest throughout the application process. They will also be reviewing your medical information history to get a realistic understanding of your risk level and what it’d cost to insure you.
That’s not all, though. Underwriters also look into some other personal details that you may not be aware of. Some examples include:
- Your driving record – Driving is one of the highest risk activities that most people engage in on a daily basis. The underwriting department of your preferred insurer may run a motor vehicle report to determine whether you have unsafe driving habits. If you do, your risk of dying in a fatal highway accident increases, meaning it’d cost more to insure you. Some common things that underwriters lookout for include drag racing, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and other signs of reckless driving.
- Parents’ health history – Underwriters may ask you if your parents are still alive or if they passed you any gene-related illnesses such as cancer or heart disease. This is necessary because statistics show that there is a direct correlation between medical conditions that are seen in parents passing down to their children.
- Prescription drug history – Your prescription drug history will be used to verify whether your medical history is accurate. If you are taking medications to treat an illness that you didn’t disclose in the application process, the underwriter may catch on that you are hiding something. This can lead to rejection of your application or higher rates.
Step 6: Receive Your Policy
After all of these steps are done, all you need to do is sit back and wait to receive your policy. If the insurance company decides to accept your application, they will let you know via phone or email.
If the rates they are offering are different from the rates you were offered in your original quote, it’s possible to go with another provider instead. Though, it is very common for insurers to offer different rates after the underwriting policy is complete.
If you review the plan and believe that no changes are necessary, you’re good to go. All you need to do is pay your first premium and continue making payments to keep the plan active.
Are You Over 80? Get Burial Insurance Today
Being a senior citizen shouldn’t disqualify you from getting the help you need paying for your funeral expenses. To get coverage today, get in touch with Senior Life Services. We are insurance experts who know how to find low-cost burial insurance coverage for seniors over age 80.
To speak to a licensed agent, call (800) 548-3249.