Life insurance helps to make sure that your surviving relatives are not left with having to settle your outstanding debts or the cost of arranging your funeral when you die.
There are types of life cover called term life insurance, but these provide that protection only for a certain pre-agreed interval. If you want the certainty of an assured pay out whenever it is that you die, you need whole of life insurance cover.
If you are over 50, the big bonus is that insurers grant automatic acceptance for arranging this cover, with no medical check-ups before it comes into place, and the guarantee of an agreed cash settlement whenever you die – even if that is only a few years after taking out your special over 50 life insurance.
So, here are some tips on buying your over 50 life insurance:
- there are many different types of policy available on the market, not only do costs vary, but each one is designed to meet particular, individual needs and circumstances;
- choosing the one that is most likely to meet your own needs and requirements may take the involvement of a specialist over 50 life insurance specialist – to ensure that you secure the appropriate cover, at a competitive rate;
- another of the reasons for choosing a specialist is the long-term nature of your over 50 life insurance contract – the premiums being payable each month for many years;
- you may need to pay these premiums for the remainder of your life, or until you reach a given age (of, say, 90) when payments cease but cover continues;
- this might mean that the total amount you pay in premiums is more than the amount paid out by your life insurance policy when you die;
- you also need to be aware that, as a result of inflation, your life insurance payout may not be the same value as it is at current prices – a particular difficulty given the ever-increasing rise in the cost of funerals;
- that value might be further undermined if your life insurance policy is included as part of your estate when you die and may, therefore, attract Inheritance Tax;
- by using a specialist over 50 life insurance broker, you may also arrange the transfer of the policy to an independent trust in favour of your intended beneficiaries;
- on the transfer of the policy to the trust, explains the financial section of the Daily Mail newspaper, the life insurance policy no longer belongs to you – but to the trust – and is therefore not included as part of your estate as far as any Inheritance Tax liability is concerned;
- if you transfer your over 50 life insurance policy to a trust fund, you may also ensure that your relatives receive the payment of its benefits immediately upon your death;
- this avoids the inevitable delay between your death and the direct payout of benefits if the policy remains part of your estate – a delay which might still mean that your relatives are left having to foot the bill for your funeral, whilst waiting for the settlement of your life insurance policy.
Over 50 life insurance is simple to arrange, with guaranteed acceptance and no medical checks. To ensure that you obtain the policy that is suitable for your individual needs and circumstances, however, you might want to consult a specialist for independent and unbiased advice.
