Over 50’s life insurance policies have become increasingly popular in recent years, a cause of people living longer than ever thanks to medical advances. Other reasons for their popularity include an explosion in affordability and a range of plans available, so whether you want to provide for your loved ones after you have passed on, or just wish to leave enough money to cover funeral expenses, an over 50’s policy is an affordable and easy way to complete these objectives.

Let’s get the basic facts out of the way first:

Ø The general rule of thumb is for the cover sum to be 7 times your annual salary.

Ø Life insurance for men is more expensive, mainly due to a shorter life span than women and increased risk of heart disease and other illnesses.

Ø The ultimate six factors that determine the cost of a policy are age, sex, health, behaviour (smoking, etc), and the type of policy you choose and which insurer you sign up with.

You can qualify for over 50’s life insurance without a medical up to the age of 65 (All plans will be open to the 50-80 age range, a few insurers will go up to 85); it’s not uncommon which can be surprising. However, if you have an existing condition such as blood pressure, diabetes or anything along similar lines, it is best to stick with an independent advisor to find the right deal. The policies can be either single or joint policies, a joint policy in most cases will be with your wife/partner and can be cheaper, though they can leave less of a payout than two separate policies would do, it’s something to think about at least.

While many of the banks and supermarkets advertise no medical required it’s not the same as being accepted onto their insurance scheme, as they have so many applications they can pick and choose who to take on, which will invariably be the least risky consumers. Not only that, but most of the bank and supermarket policies all come from the same handful of insurance companies and are rebranded under that companies label. Not to be overly critical of supermarket and bank life cover, but most are also a “Guaranteed over 50 Plan” with most of the same T&C’s as each other, a one size fits all if you will. Most of these plans will pay out a lump sum upon death, but this amount will not rise with inflation, backing up what critics say about these policies not offering adequate cover.

Opposite of this approach we have more secure and solid life cover if you go to an independent financial advisor (IFA), they will scour the market for you to find the policy with the best cover and rates to fit your needs. Going down this route will require a medical or medical questionnaire to be completed to help the IFA find a good policy. The significant advantage this has over the “guaranteed” and readymade internet policies is your policy will/can be inflation based, or set to rise a certain percent up to a maximum of 10%. The policy is also guaranteed to pay out the full amount upon death, which the others are not always assured to do, finally you’re getting the most important thing of all, unbiased advice, most of these policies you just sign up to or the adviser working for that company can only offer advice on that companies products. An IFA can answer any questions you want at all on the industry, compare and contrast policies and advise which one is the best for your circumstances.

A question to ask yourself is how much life insurance are you looking at securing? As stated above the main guideline is seven times annual salary, but it can range from as much as 5-15 times general salary, depending on the calculation made from outstanding debt, mortgage, credit cards, loans, family and lifestyle. On top of this are optional extras, the principle options being:

Ø Critical Illness Cover – Covers up to 35 critical illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and multiple sclerosis among others. In the event of diagnosis you’re policy can pay out to help with expenses.

Ø Waiver of Premium – In the event of being seriously ill or injured in an accident and you are unable to work for 6 months plus, the waiver allows the policy to continue without payments being made due to lack of finances by being unable to work.

Ø Total and Permanent Disability – If you are unable to work in your profession or work at all, this option allows you to claim on the i

Over 50’s life insurance policies have become increasingly popular in recent years, a cause of people living longer than ever thanks to medical advances. Other reasons for their popularity include an explosion in affordability and a range of plans available, so whether you want to provide for your loved ones after you have passed on, or just wish to leave enough money to cover funeral expenses, an over 50’s policy is an affordable and easy way to complete these objectives.

Let’s get the basic facts out of the way first:

Ø  The general rule of thumb is for the cover sum to be 7 times your annual salary.

Ø  Life insurance for men is more expensive, mainly due to a shorter life span than women and increased risk of heart disease and other illnesses.

Ø  The ultimate six factors that determine the cost of a policy are age, sex, health, behaviour (smoking, etc), and the type of policy you choose and which insurer you sign up with.

You can qualify for over 50’s life insurance without a medical up to the age of 65 (All plans will be open to the 50-80 age range, a few insurers will go up to 85); it’s not uncommon which can be surprising. However, if you have an existing condition such as blood pressure, diabetes or anything along similar lines, it is best to stick with an independent advisor to find the right deal. The policies can be either single or joint policies, a joint policy in most cases will be with your wife/partner and can be cheaper, though they can leave less of a payout than two separate policies would do, it’s something to think about at least.

While many of the banks and supermarkets advertise no medical required it’s not the same as being accepted onto their insurance scheme, as they have so many applications they can pick and choose who to take on, which will invariably be the least risky consumers. Not only that, but most of the bank and supermarket policies all come from the same handful of insurance companies and are rebranded under that companies label. Not to be overly critical of supermarket and bank life cover, but most are also a “Guaranteed over 50 Plan” with most of the same T&C’s as each other, a one size fits all if you will. Most of these plans will pay out a lump sum upon death, but this amount will not rise with inflation, backing up what critics say about these policies not offering adequate cover.

Opposite of this approach we have more secure and solid life cover if you go to an independent financial advisor (IFA), they will scour the market for you to find the policy with the best cover and rates to fit your needs. Going down this route will require a medical or medical questionnaire to be completed to help the IFA find a good policy. The significant advantage this has over the “guaranteed” and readymade internet policies is your policy will/can be inflation based, or set to rise a certain percent up to a maximum of 10%. The policy is also guaranteed to pay out the full amount upon death, which the others are not always assured to do, finally you’re getting the most important thing of all, unbiased advice, most of these policies you just sign up to or the adviser working for that company can only offer advice on that companies products. An IFA can answer any questions you want at all on the industry, compare and contrast policies and advise which one is the best for your circumstances.

A question to ask yourself is how much life insurance are you looking at securing? As stated above the main guideline is seven times annual salary, but it can range from as much as 5-15 times general salary, depending on the calculation made from outstanding debt, mortgage, credit cards, loans, family and lifestyle. On top of this are optional extras, the principle options being:

Ø  Critical Illness Cover – Covers up to 35 critical illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and multiple sclerosis among others. In the event of diagnosis you’re policy can pay out to help with expenses.

Ø  Waiver of Premium – In the event of being seriously ill or injured in an accident and you are unable to work for 6 months plus, the waiver allows the policy to continue without payments being made due to lack of finances by being unable to work.

Ø  Total and Permanent Disability – If you are unable to work in your profession or work at all, this option allows you to claim on the insurance policy.

In the result of death at the beginning of a policy, different outcomes happen depending on the insurer. At minimum you will receive the premium payments paid so far back, maybe a bit more depending on the insurer, a few will even make payment in the event of an accidental death. The time period in which the policy becomes active is usually either 12 months (Aviva) or 2 years (Legal & General), that’s to say you will only receive the total payout of the policy after these anniversaries have been passed.

Finally, any money released by the policy maturing at death can be subject to inheritance tax unless it’s placed in trust, so if the estate exceeds the threshold of £325,000, 40% is due to HMRC.

nsurance policy.

In the result of death at the beginning of a policy, different outcomes happen depending on the insurer. At minimum you will receive the premium payments paid so far back, maybe a bit more depending on the insurer, a few will even make payment in the event of an accidental death. The time period in which the policy becomes active is usually either 12 months (Aviva) or 2 years (Legal & General), that’s to say you will only receive the total payout of the policy after these anniversaries have been passed.

Finally, any money released by the policy maturing at death can be subject to inheritance tax unless it’s placed in trust, so if the estate exceeds the threshold of £325,000, 40% is due to HMRC.