Over 50 life insurance

[nightofjoy]

Hi. I'll be 50 in January and am considering setting up some life insurance.

It seems like the right time to do it, as the ads on TV say there's no medical.

I'm a light smoker & moderate drinker but can't be bothered going through it all.

So can anyone make any suggestions on which firms are trustworthy & reliable?

I was thinking of maybe taking out a couple of policies... one offering cover should anything to me short term, and a second perhaps covering me if I (hopefully) live a longer life.

We've no mortgage to pay off and I'll be having a direct creation funeral which is the cheapest option, so I'd just like my long-term girlfriend to have some cash if she had to take some time off work after my departure.

Thanks.

 

[MBE2017]

The no medical insurance tends to be pricey, and often doesn’t give full cover for the first year, from memory. Personally I would arrange the insurance ASAP, you can get sensible levels of cover, the over 50’s type is more to give small amounts to cover funerals etc.

 

[promdressers]

Hi. I'll be 50 in January and am considering setting up some life insurance.

It seems like the right time to do it, as the ads on TV say there's no medical.

I'm a light smoker & moderate drinker but can't be bothered going through it all.

So can anyone make any suggestions on which firms are trustworthy & reliable?

I was thinking of maybe taking out a couple of policies... one offering cover should anything to me short term, and a second perhaps covering me if I (hopefully) live a longer life.

We've no mortgage to pay off and I'll be having a direct creation funeral which is the cheapest option, so I'd just like my long-term girlfriend to have some cash if she had to take some time off work after my departure.



It is a pain, but best to go for "proper" insurance. You may have to have a medical, but, assuming you are healthy, you will get more insurance per pound AND, hey, maybe a free medical !

But, seriously, do it now BEFORE you hit 50 - basic premiums are based on age, so will be cheaper this year than next.

As mentioned, there is normally a waiting period before cover starts, and can be 24 months.

Thanks.

 

[tony84]

The over 50s policies tend to increase in price as you get older - reviewable premiums.
Life insurance in the sense of Term assurance asks medical questions, if the answers are generally no and you are not looking for £500k worth of cover, it is unlikely there would be a medical.

As an example, I am asthmatic. I use my inhaler as and when I need it and have not been to hospital with it since I was in school. That had no effect on the premiums and there was no medical needed.

Speak to a mortgage broker or a financial adviser. They will ask you the health questions over the phone and assuming you are not on deaths doorstep you should be able to avoid medicals and get cover cheaper. There are also ways to make it cheaper, rather than providing a lump sum for instance you can do what is called Family income benefit, which could be £1,000 a month instead of £100k lump sum.

 

[MikeJ]

Start putting money into a savings account or a pension for her. Forget insurance, unless she's reliant on your income to survive.

 

[Scalloway]

Why over 50 life insurance is a waste of money.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/over-50s-life-insurance/

You need to pay the premium for life or your plan will end and you'll get nothing back.

You could pay in more than the cash lump sum paid out.

 

[AllUpHere]

Why over 50 life insurance is a waste of money.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/over-50s-life-insurance/

You need to pay the premium for life or your plan will end and you'll get nothing back.

You could pay in more than the cash lump sum paid out.

There are so many other ways you could put away a meaningful amount of money.

What us self employed folks have done to prepare for retirement / look after loved ones would make an interesting thread.

 

[tony84]

There are so many other ways you could put away a meaningful amount of money.

What us self employed folks have done to prepare for retirement / look after loved ones would make an interesting thread.

Doubt it. I would say the vast majority have done nothing and would rely on their business having some value in order to provide.

 

[Mr D]

Some of us can't get life insurance.

The over 50s cover is intended for the most part to cover funeral / immediate expenses. My father in law paid into one with Scottish Widows for about 20 years before he died, it covered the funeral and an additional few hundred quid. If he'd have saved those premiums every month instead it would have been better part of a grand less.

I know some people choose company death benefit plans. May be worth looking at for some of the business people, blanket cover again with no medical.

Anything requiring medical or with exemptions based on circumstances means millions of us won't find the insurance worth it.

Last normal quote I had for life insurance was about 10% of household income plus didn't cover several problems at all and in the event of most likely cause of death my wife would have to prove a negative that was impossible to prove. How exactly do you prove a fall was not caused by balance going?

 

[nightofjoy]

I'm not very healthy though. I can't imagine I'd pass a medical of any description...

 

[nightofjoy]

I think I'll just look into a plan to solely cover my direct cremation, and also set up another account to start paying money into, and make a will. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Mr D]

I'm not very healthy though. I can't imagine I'd pass a medical of any description...

You can pass a medical for life insurance. Just they will set premium high and give you certain exclusions they won't pay out on.
You'd think that not covering part of your problems would reduce your premium .... but no, it goes up and they try avoiding paying out.
Hence the 'over 50' schemes do quite well.

 

[tony84]

You can pass a medical for life insurance. Just they will set premium high and give you certain exclusions they won't pay out on.
You'd think that not covering part of your problems would reduce your premium .... but no, it goes up and they try avoiding paying out.
Hence the 'over 50' schemes do quite well.

Thats not quite true.

Exclusions apply to things that are extremely likely to result in a pay out. Ratings apply to things that are more likely to result in a pay out but you are not quite at the place of needing it excluded. Usually people do not have just one medical issue.

You could be morbidly obese, that may result in excluding heart attacks. But you are still more likely to have a stroke and die from that than someone who is perfectly fit and healthy. So the exclusion is for a heart attack, the rating is for high BMI.

The time to take out the insurance is when you do not need it. If you are only thinking about it when you need it, you have missed the boat.

 

[Mr D]

Thats not quite true.

Exclusions apply to things that are extremely likely to result in a pay out. Ratings apply to things that are more likely to result in a pay out but you are not quite at the place of needing it excluded. Usually people do not have just one medical issue.

You could be morbidly obese, that may result in excluding heart attacks. But you are still more likely to have a stroke and die from that than someone who is perfectly fit and healthy. So the exclusion is for a heart attack, the rating is for high BMI.

The time to take out the insurance is when you do not need it. If you are only thinking about it when you need it, you have missed the boat.

How about taking insurance when you can afford it?

Last time I was quoted, quite a few years back now, the cost was 10% of household income.
And the risk was if I died as a result of a fall my wife would have to prove it wasn't caused by disability.
Still, we've saved over £19k by not paying that premium since... for a £20k life insurance!

 

[AllUpHere]

How about taking insurance when you can afford it?

Last time I was quoted, quite a few years back now, the cost was 10% of household income.
And the risk was if I died as a result of a fall my wife would have to prove it wasn't caused by disability.
Still, we've saved over £19k by not paying that premium since... for a £20k life insurance!

If all you need is 20 grand to be paid out, you are better off just sticking the money in an account and forgetting about it.

 

[tony84]

How about taking insurance when you can afford it?

Last time I was quoted, quite a few years back now, the cost was 10% of household income.
And the risk was if I died as a result of a fall my wife would have to prove it wasn't caused by disability.
Still, we've saved over £19k by not paying that premium since... for a £20k life insurance!

But clearly you have medical conditions that make it expensive. In the nicest possible way, you left it too late to look at getting it.

I took out some insurance when my daughter was born, not a huge amount but a little. It costs me about £11 a month. £130 a year, I would need to live around 100 years to pay anything remotely like what you have been quoted.

Had you taken out insurance before you had any signs of the medical condition(s) you have, the premium would have been a lot lower I assume and with no exclusions or special conditions being applied. The point being you cant really say life insurance is not worth it because it would not cover you.

My policy came with something called Best Doctors - when my daughter was born she was in and out of hospital. I was able to send her medical reports off to get a diagnosis from a specialist somewhere else in the world as the NHS (who I have absolutely nothing against) were struggling.

In May I found a lump on one of my testes. I went to my GP, she sent me off for a scan. My GP called me to tell me it was ok. I asked her what it was, do I need to worry and she said dont worry unless it gets worse... WTF does that mean? She had no time (and again, I do not blame my GP for that). I sent off my reports to Best Drs and the bloke spent 55 minutes on the phone with me whilst I emailed him the paperwork I had and ran through it all with me.

I have so far paid around £500-600 in premiums. I think I have had more than my moneys worth with those extras. Added to that I also get access to Bupa version of the NHS helpline. I have called that a few times when I could not get through to the NHS helpline, Bupa pick up much quicker.

I am not trying to sell insurance, I think it is a no brainer if you take it out early enough. But not everyone agrees and thats fine.

 

[Mr D]

But clearly you have medical conditions that make it expensive. In the nicest possible way, you left it too late to look at getting it.

I took out some insurance when my daughter was born, not a huge amount but a little. It costs me about £11 a month. £130 a year, I would need to live around 100 years to pay anything remotely like what you have been quoted.

Had you taken out insurance before you had any signs of the medical condition(s) you have, the premium would have been a lot lower I assume and with no exclusions or special conditions being applied. The point being you cant really say life insurance is not worth it because it would not cover you.

My policy came with something called Best Doctors - when my daughter was born she was in and out of hospital. I was able to send her medical reports off to get a diagnosis from a specialist somewhere else in the world as the NHS (who I have absolutely nothing against) were struggling.

In May I found a lump on one of my testes. I went to my GP, she sent me off for a scan. My GP called me to tell me it was ok. I asked her what it was, do I need to worry and she said dont worry unless it gets worse... WTF does that mean? She had no time (and again, I do not blame my GP for that). I sent off my reports to Best Drs and the bloke spent 55 minutes on the phone with me whilst I emailed him the paperwork I had and ran through it all with me.

I have so far paid around £500-600 in premiums. I think I have had more than my moneys worth with those extras. Added to that I also get access to Bupa version of the NHS helpline. I have called that a few times when I could not get through to the NHS helpline, Bupa pick up much quicker.

I am not trying to sell insurance, I think it is a no brainer if you take it out early enough. But not everyone agrees and thats fine.

I've had medical conditions since birth. How late should I have left it?
My principle risk of death disability I was born with. Its almost killed me multiple times.

Yes I can say life insurance isn't worth it because it won't cover me - not least any insurance that is 10% of joint income is darn expensive insurance anyway. And if not eligible for a claim will they hand back the money paid?

In your case with the lump then I agree you had your money's worth.

I'm not with BUPA, went to my GP surgery a few weeks back for a blood test. GP rang up a few days later with the results and talked me through them. He's fine with the result though it is below normal human level - takes time to replenish blood and I'm not in an active role at work.
Another test in a couple of months should show well within norm for the result. I get my money's worth from the NHS.
Have used private hospital for a particular treatment years ago, didn't rate it then and never come across anyone who has had that same treatment on the NHS. Same doctor I saw at private hospital and NHS hospital, turned out to be mistake prone so I won't see him again.

 

[tony84]

So in your case, you are the exception to the rule.

That does not make it a bad thing.

 

[Mr D]

So in your case, you are the exception to the rule.

That does not make it a bad thing.

Millions of people have problems / conditions from birth.
We tend to not surprisingly find the blanket cover from such firms as life cover for over 50s as the only cover useful to us.