Life insurance is something just about everyone should have no matter your age. The simple fact is that this type of coverage provides peace of mind that no other product can provide.

But can seniors over 75 years old really access coverage?

There’s a common misconception that seniors over 75 don’t qualify for life insurance coverage. That’s simply not true. The truth is that there are plenty of seniors of all ages who have successfully purchased a life insurance policy.

That misconception may keep many from accessing the peace of mind life insurance coverage can provide, but you shouldn’t let it stop you. Continue reading for a comprehensive guide to help seniors make life insurance decisions.

Why Life Insurance for Seniors Over 75 Matters

When you’re well into your golden years, you may think that life insurance isn’t a necessity anymore. After all, at this point, all of your children are adults who take care of themselves and have children of their own. Nobody depends on you financially anymore.

Why should you have insurance?

The truth is that life insurance is important for seniors over 75 years old for several reasons. Here are some of the most important:

To Cover End-of-Life Expenses

End-of-life expenses can be quite costly. The final month of hospice care can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Then again, you might think, “I won’t be here to pay the bill.” but your beneficiaries will.

If you have no plan to pay for end-of-life care, the bill is typically covered by your estate.

That means if you have money in your estate you hoped to leave to your loved ones, it may be used to pay for your end-of-life care debts. If there is no liquid cash, your beneficiaries may be forced to sell assets like your family home to cover these expenses.

Life insurance can help solve this problem. Simply consider end-of-life care costs as you determine your policy’s coverage amount. Then, when it’s time to pay the bill, your loved ones can use your life insurance’s death benefit to do so.

To Cover Funeral and Burial Expenses

Funeral and burial costs can be shocking. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average funeral in the United States costs $6,970 without a viewing and $7,848 with a viewing.

If you die without a plan to cover this expense, your loved ones will be on the hook for the bill. If they can’t afford to pay it, they may not be able to celebrate your life as they should.

Life insurance can help alleviate this concern as well. When you purchase life insurance coverage, get an accurate estimate of how much money your funeral will cost. Then, simply bake this estimate into the coverage amount to ensure that the cost burden doesn’t fall on your loved ones.

To Pay Off Any Outstanding Debts

It would be nice if your debts died with you, but that’s not always the case. Unfortunately, debts can be costly, even after you pass. If you don’t have the money to pay your outstanding debts, your heirs may be forced to pay your debts out of your estate.

This could prove to be a major issue.

For example, let’s say that when you die, your estate consists of $45,000 in cash, your family home, worth about $250,000, and smaller items. Now, let’s say you die with $30,000 in credit card debt, $15,000 in personal loan debt, and a $10,000 car loan for a total of $55,000 in debt.

In this case, your estate’s cash balance of $45,000 won’t be able to cover the cost of your debt. As such, your family may be forced to sell your family home to make up the difference.

If you have a life insurance policy to cover the cost of your debts, your family won’t have to make tough decisions when the time comes.

To Give Your Loved Ones Peace of Mind

It’s doubtful that your loved ones will ever express any concern about how they’re going to handle your end-of-life and funeral costs, but it’s possible that this is something they think about often.

When you purchase a life insurance policy, you’re taking the weight off the shoulders of those closest to you.

Those expenses will fall on the people who care about you the most. Simply telling those people that you purchased a life insurance policy, even a small one only designed to cover end-of-life and burial expenses, has the potential to ease their concerns and let them rest easier at night.

To Leave a Legacy Behind

Nobody wants to leave this world with nothing to leave behind, whether that means leaving something behind for the people you love or giving a meaningful donation to a charity you care about.

Life insurance gives you the ability to leave that legacy.

All you need to do is purchase a policy and name your beneficiaries. Those may be your children, grandchildren, friends, or other loved ones. You could even name a charity that’s important to you as a beneficiary.

Understanding Life Insurance Options After 75

If you’ve talked to your friends or family about life insurance, or even read articles on some blogs, you may have been told that once you hit age 75, you don’t qualify for coverage. Or, you may have been told that coverage simply isn’t worth the premiums at this age.

However, these myths couldn’t be further from the truth. Moreover, they’re actually quite dangerous. After all, they tend to stop seniors ages 75 and older from taking advantage of a valuable financial tool that could help their families.

The truth of the matter is that you have plenty of life insurance options to choose from, even if you’re 75 years old or older. Here’s a breakdown of the most common types of life insurance, and their pros and cons:

Term Life Insurance

As its name suggests, term life insurance is a type of life insurance policy that provides coverage for a predetermined term, or period of time. For example, a 10-year, $50,000 term life policy will pay a $50,000 death benefit to your beneficiaries if you pass away any time during the 10-year term.

Term Life Insurance Pros & Cons

Term Life Pros: Term life insurance is relatively inexpensive when you compare this type of coverage to whole life insurance. You can also add riders to term life coverage to expand your coverage options. For example, you can add the long-term care rider to cover long-term care expenses later in life.

Term Life Cons: Term life insurance only lasts for a predetermined period of time. If you outlive the term of the policy, you will no longer have coverage and there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to qualify for new coverage. That is unless you add a guaranteed insurability rider to your policy. Moreover, you may be required to submit to medical testing before coverage starts.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole life insurance policies, also commonly called permanent life policies, are just what it sounds like. It’s a type of life insurance policy that’s not limited to any specific period of time. Instead, you’ll enjoy whole life coverage for as long as you live, no matter how long that may be. Of course, that’s only the case as long as you make your premium payments. Moreover, this is the only type of life insurance that builds value every time you make a premium payment.

Whole Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Whole Life Insurance Pros: Whole life insurance doesn’t involve any predetermined expiration date. You’ll have insurance from the day you enroll until the day you die. You can also add riders to customize your insurance policy and your policy builds a cash value as you make your payments. So, if you need to tap into that cash value to cover unexpected costs, you’ll have the ability to do so.

Whole Life Insurance Cons: Whole life insurance is a more expensive type of life insurance coverage than other types, as it poses a larger risk to life insurance companies. Moreover, even with the higher cost, whole-life coverage typically comes with a lower death benefit. You also may be required to submit to a medical exam before coverage begins.

Final Expense Life Insurance

Final expense insurance is designed to cover the cost of your final expenses. These include expenses like hospice care, funeral, and burial expenses. This is an important type of coverage because the holders of this debt may be able to get paid through your estate if you don’t have plans for covering these costs, cutting into what you’ve left behind for your loved ones.

Final Expense Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Final Expense Life Insurance Pros: Final expense insurance can cover the cost of both end-of-life and burial costs. This type of coverage offers your family peace of mind and helps to ensure that debt holders don’t access your estate’s holdings. Additionally, final expense life insurance is relatively inexpensive when compared to other forms of coverage. In most cases, you won’t need a medical exam and you’ll be able to qualify for coverage as long as you don’t have any serious health conditions.

Final Expense Life Insurance Cons: Final expense life insurance only covers the cost of final expenses. It doesn’t offer funds to pay off outstanding debts or to leave a legacy behind with your loved ones.

Simplified Issue Life Insurance

Simplified issue life insurance is a type of term life insurance that makes it possible to access coverage with limited questions asked about your health and no medical exam is required. In most cases, all you need to do to get coverage is fill out an online form and make your first payment. However, there may be a waiting period before this type of coverage kicks in.

Simplified Issue Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Simplified Issue Life Insurance Pros: As its name suggests, simplified issue life insurance is very easy to get. As long as you have no serious pre-existing health issues, you should qualify for coverage without a medical exam.

Simplified Issue Life Insurance Cons: You may only qualify for heavily limited coverage amounts or terms when you purchase a simplified issue life insurance policy.

Guaranteed Life Insurance

Guaranteed life insurance, also known as guaranteed acceptance life insurance, is the whole-life version of a simplified issue life insurance policy. When you sign up for this type of coverage, you’ll only have to answer limited health-related questions and you won’t be required to submit to a medical exam before coverage. Moreover, as a whole life policy, this type of policy isn’t limited to a predetermined period of time.

Guaranteed Life Insurance Pros and Cons

Guaranteed Life Insurance Pros: Guaranteed life insurance covers you for your entire life, however long you may live, as long as you make your premium payments. This type of coverage is typically customizable and easy to qualify for. You won’t have to answer any detailed health questions or submit to a medical exam before coverage begins.

Guaranteed Life Insurance Cons: Guaranteed life insurance policies typically come with the highest premiums of any other type of policy on this list. Moreover, it may come with the lowest death benefit. After all, you are guaranteed to be approved for this coverage, which poses the largest risk to life insurance companies.

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Factors to Consider When Choosing Life Insurance

Buying life insurance is an important decision. When you do, there are several factors to consider to make sure that you end up with the type and amount of coverage you need. Here are the factors you should consider as you shop for a life insurance policy:

How Much Coverage You Need

It’s important to think about how much life insurance you need. So, you’ll have to consider why you’re getting the policy in the first place. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

Are My End-Of-Life Expenses Covered? Do you already have a plan to cover your end-of-life expenses? If not, you’ll want to make sure you have enough coverage to take care of those expenses.

Am I Trying to Leave More Behind for My Loved Ones? If you’re purchasing your policy to leave meaningful value behind for your loved ones, think about how much coverage you need to do so.

Do I Have Any Outstanding Debt: Your lenders will be able to tap into your estate to cover your debts. Be sure to consider any outstanding debt you have as you decide your coverage amount.

The Duration of Coverage You Need

How long do you think you’ll need coverage for? If you’re like most people, you’ll want coverage that lasts your entire life. However, there are reasons for short-term life insurance policies as well. Maybe you’re looking for coverage to help your children cover the cost of your grandchildren’s education. If you outlive their education costs, you won’t need that coverage.

This is another factor that causes you to think more about why you’re buying life insurance coverage. Consider how long that need will last when you purchase your policy.

Premium Affordability

As a retiree, you’re likely living on a fixed income, so any additional cost may be hard to cover. As such, it’s important to consider premium affordability when you purchase life insurance coverage. Here are a few things to think about:

Different Types of Insurance Are More Expensive: Whole life and guaranteed life insurance policies are the most expensive. If premium affordability is a concern, consider looking to term life and other lower-cost options.

Coverage Amount: Some coverage is always better than no coverage. If the premium for a policy you’re considering is too high, think about reducing the death benefit to reduce the premiums.

Existing Health Conditions

If you have any pre-existing health conditions, you may find it challenging to get some types of coverage. For example, traditional term life insurance and whole life insurance policies require a medical exam and have strict health requirements.

The good news is that policies like simplified issue and guaranteed life insurance are easier to qualify for. So, if you’re worried about preexisting health conditions, consider looking into these types of options for improved accessibility.

Take Advantage of Tools

If you’re like most people, you’re going into the idea of life insurance with many questions. If you’re not sure how much coverage you need, consider using Fidelity Life’s life insurance calculator. The tool asks a few questions about you and your plans and will give you more information on how much insurance you need to meet your goals.

If you want to know the cost of different life insurance policies, consider using the Fidelity Life quote tool. This tool asks you a few questions about your age and health. It then provides you with the different coverage options that are available to you, and it provides quotes for each type of coverage.

Navigating the Application Process

If you’ve never applied for life insurance before, you may find the process somewhat intimidating. Don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it seems. Here are a few tips to help you navigate the life insurance application process:

How to Apply for Life Insurance Step-By-Step

Get a Quote: Start by getting a quote to determine the type of coverage that’s available to you and obtain price comparisons.

Choose Your Coverage: Choose the life insurance policy you’d like to purchase.

Sign Up for Coverage: Fill out an online form or speak with a representative to sign up for coverage. At this stage, you may be required to submit documents confirming the health information you provide and your identity.

Once you’ve completed this step, your application will move to the underwriting process.

How the Underwriting Process Works

Insurance underwriters determine whether or not the company is willing to provide you with final coverage. Depending on the type of policy you choose, you may be required to submit to a medical exam as part of the underwriting process. These exams usually consist of:

A blood pressure check.

A blood test.

A urine test.

Your medical exam may include other testing.

Once you pass your medical exam and the underwriters are happy with your application, you’ll be approved for life insurance coverage. This process may take a week or two to complete.

How to Prepare for Interviews With a Fidelity Life Insurance Agent

A Fidelity Life life insurance agent will guide you through the process of purchasing your life insurance policy. They are highly skilled individuals who understand the ins and outs of the coverage they sell. Prepare for your interviews with insurance agents by writing down the questions you intend to ask.

It’s important that you fully understand your policy before you finalize it. Some common questions to consider include:

What will my monthly insurance premiums be?

How much coverage will I have?

Is my coverage enough to meet my goals (write your goals down)?

What happens if a health condition stops me from paying my premiums? Is there a waiver of premium rider I can add to my policy?

Don’t be shy. This is your time to educate yourself. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask.

Senior Life Insurance Success Stories

Here are a couple of stories of seniors and their families who have benefitted from life insurance:

Rosie: Meet Rosie. Rosie is a 76-year-old firecracker who hadn’t even considered insurance. Misconceptions about accessibility kept her from filling out applications. After talking to a friend, she found out she may qualify. Rosie recently signed up for $25,000 worth of life insurance coverage and lives with the peace of mind of knowing that her loved ones won’t have to find a way to pay her final expenses.

Meet Margaret: Margaret’s husband, Rodger, passed away last year at 82 years old. When he was 75 years old, he signed up for a term-life policy to help Margaret cover the cost of the debts they had together. Today, Margaret is debt-free and enjoying financial stability through the remainder of her retirement.

If you’re over 75 years old, it may be easy to fall under the common misconception that life insurance is out of reach. That’s likely not the case. You may be surprised at how affordable it can be to access the coverage you need. Chat with a life insurance expert today to access the policy you deserve.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

The Fidelity Life team is here and ready to help you make the right choice for your family. Get your quote online or call a life insurance agent at (844) 209-6398.