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The purchase of life insurance can entail many different parameters. These may include which type of coverage is right for a person's needs, as well as which carrier may best fit with a particular insured.
One of the most essential decisions when obtaining life insurance, though, is determining how much coverage to purchase. This is because an insured does not want to leave his or her loved ones or survivors with too little in proceeds to move forward with paying off debt or final expenses or other needs that they may have.
For seniors, the needs for life insurance can be many. These may include the payment of funeral and other related costs. Today, the cost for a memorial service, burial plot, headstone, and other related items can often exceed $10,000 - an amount that a spouse or other loved ones may simply not have readily available.
In addition, a senior spouse may also require life insurance proceeds for other needs, too. For example, in many instances, when a senior passes away, his or her pension income may also stop or be reduced substantially. This could leave a surviving spouse with a greatly diminished incoming cash flow - which in turn, could leave them in a financial hardship without life insurance proceeds to rely on.
Oftentimes, when life insurance is purchased, the amount at that time is sufficient for a person's current needs. However, as time goes by and needs begin to change, the amount of coverage may have to be increased. Therefore, it could be that a senior may need to either raise the value of their current life insurance coverage or consider the purchase of an additional policy.
One way to obtain additional life insurance protection is to raise the face value of currently owned coverage. In doing so, a senior may or may not need to prove evidence of insurability - depending on the policy and the insurance carrier.
The amount of additional coverage that may be added may also depend on a variety of factors. These can include the age and health of the senior, the type of coverage that he or she owns, and the carrier that the coverage was purchased through.
A senior could obtain additional life insurance coverage by purchasing another separate policy, rather than increasing the coverage that they already own. When going this route, there are a number of different options that may be chosen. These will typically depend on how much coverage is needed, as well as the health of the senior.
If, for instance, the senior is in good health, then there are a variety of options that may be chosen for purchase. These will include either term or permanent coverage. With term insurance, a policy that covers pure death benefit protection can be obtained for a certain number of years. This will provide more affordable protection - however; the coverage will expire at the end of the policy's coverage period.
A permanent life insurance policy will provide both death benefit protection, as well as a cash value component. While the premium will be higher than that of a comparable term policy, permanent coverage also provides the ability to have tax deferred savings within the policy. These funds can be either borrowed or withdrawn in the future for any reason - including paying off debt or supplementing retirement income.
Most traditionally underwritten term and permanent life insurance policies will require that a senior go through underwriting and provide evidence of insurability in order to qualify for coverage. Often, this means going through the medical examination, which typically entails providing a blood and urine sample.
Many seniors opt to purchase final expense life insurance. This type of coverage, which is also oftentimes referred to as either funeral insurance or a burial policy, is purchased for the purpose of paying off the high cost of final expenses such as a person's funeral and burial services. Final expense life insurance can provide a person's loved ones with the cash that is needed quickly - and can keep family members from having to dip into savings or other assets for the purpose of paying off these bills.
If a senior has various health issues and may not qualify for medically underwritten life insurance coverage to add to their existing coverage, then they may opt to apply for a no medical exam life insurance policy. As the name implies, these policies do not require that the applicant undergo the medical exam in order to qualify for coverage. Often, all that is required for policy approval is for the individual to answer just a few questions on the application for coverage - and in many cases, a policy can be approved within just days, or even sooner.
With no medical exam life insurance coverage, as long as the premium continues to be paid, the policy cannot be cancelled. And, even though the premiums for this type of coverage may be more than that of medically underwritten coverage, this could provide the only way for some seniors to obtain the additional life insurance protection that they need.
When seeking quotes for additional life insurance coverage for seniors, the best way of doing so is to work with an agency that has access to multiple insurers. This way, you will have many more choices - which also means that you will be able to review and determine which plan will work the best for you and your personal needs.
If you are ready to move forward, we can help. We work with many of the best life insurance carriers in the marketplace, and we can assist you in getting all of the information that you need. When you're ready to obtain these details, get a free set of quotes by filling out the form on this page.
Should you have any additional questions, our experts are available to walk you through the answers. We can be reached via phone, toll-free, by calling 541-400-9040. We know that finding additional life insurance coverage for seniors may seem difficult. But the truth is that there are many options. So, contact us today - we're here to help.