Best Insurance Blog and Articles » seniors

Life Insurance For Seniors

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:25:57 +0000

Seniors Life Insurance

Why Buy Life Insurance For Senior Citizens

Why would anybody look for life insurance for seniors? It is actually a common misconception that senior citizens have outlived their need for life insurance policies. However, this attitude ignores many changes in the productive lives of older people today.

Actually, many of the top life insurance companies recognize that older customers have many different needs, and they eagerly court this booming market! If you need to buy a life policy for an older person – yourself, or somebody you care for – you can use this competition to your advantage.

You may also want to explore life insurance for seniors at a page where you can get free quotes for a variety of products.

What Type Of Life Insurance Do Seniors Buy?

There is never one simple answer to most insurance questions. This one is no difference. Each individual will have different reasons they want to purchase a life insurance policy.

Consider a few things that senior citizens may be looking for.

Some older people simply want a way to provide cash for final expenses. These smaller policies will pay the beneficiary cash that can be used to pay for a funeral, settle debts, etc. This may seem trivial, but these expenses can mount up. They may be a burden for cash strapped families and seniors on limited incomes.
Other seniors have plenty of cash set aside to cover a funeral and other final expenses. They are looking for more sophisticated uses. Some may want to enjoy tax advantages, transfer wealth, or even provide for a business.
There are even some uses of life policies that you can enjoy while you are still alive.

Burial Life Insurance For Seniors

These are simply intended to provide cash to pay for expenses after the insured person passes away. In the world of life insurance, the death benefits are considered small. They usually range from a twenty-five hundred to twenty-five thousand dollars. The policy owner, which could be the family member or somebody with a close relationship to that person, may name policy beneficiaries. The beneficiary will usually be the person who is expected to handle final arrangements.

You can learn more about burial insurance for seniors here.

Estate Transfers And Business

There are also some very sophisticated and useful reasons that older people want to be covered by life policies. It is easy to illustrate this with some simple examples.

Pass On A Business: Let us say that Mr. Brown wants to pass his widget business on to a daughter who has been very involved in the business for most of her life. His two other children are not involved, but he still needs to leave them a legacy. He could purchase a life insurance policy to settle with the two children that will not own the business, and basically – buy them out – in that way. This is a strategy he could use to make sure his intended heir gets the business, and his two other children are satisfied.

Tax Advantaged Wealth Transfer: In another case, Mr. Brown would just like to leave a legacy to his heirs, or perhaps even a favorite charity. He could name the beneficiaries in his policy. Normally, the proceeds from a death benefit are not taxed.

Key Man Insurance: In order to protect a business financially, against the loss of one of the owners or top experts, some companies purchase key man insurance.

Use Of Senior Life Insurance While The Insured Person Lives

This is a more pleasant topic to discuss. There are many uses of life policies that can actually benefit the insured person while they are still alive.

Senior Life Settlements are transactions that allow older people to sell their policy for some percentage of the face value. You may also be able to borrow against the cash value of your permanent policy.

Riders (policy options) that provide for the use of some percentage while the insured person is still alive. Some may actually allow the insured person to use some of the death benefit while they are still alive in the case of an illness. This could be a long term care insurance alternative, for example.

Finding The Right Life Insurance For Seniors

Before you set out to buy a new policy, be sure to think about the reasons you may want to be covered. Also think about other alternatives to life policies, like simply establishing a savings account. You should know that there are even brokers that specialize in the senior market, and you may find they can save you a lot of time. Otherwise, a good life agent should be able to help you.

We also offer more information and free online insurance quotes here: Life Insurance For Older People.

Life Settlement Company Investment Scam

FinanceGuy — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:58:04 +0000

Texas Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Life Settlement Investment Scam

A lawyer, Mackert, in Spring, Texas has pleaded guilty to a life settlement investment scam.

What Are Senior Life Settlements?

Senior life settlements are transactions where investment groups or companies will purchase permanent policies from older people in exchange for cash which is less than the face value, but more than the owner could get if they sold the policy back to the insurer.

The investment companies make money when the insured people pass away, and they collect the proceeds of the policy. Since they purchased the policies for less than the death benefit, this difference is their profit.

It all sounds like a grim business with a sort of reverse-underwriting. Polices that cover older people, those closer to passing on, are actually more valuabe. But let us be chear that in this case, it was not the policy owners who were scammed. For some seniors or companies that hold policies on older people, there are some advantages to senior life settlements!

The Senior Life Settlement Investment Scam

The problem was the way the fund was marketed to potential investors! The company was pictured as risk free and promised guaranteed double digit returns. The lawyer pleaded guilty to misleading investors, and also to hiding millions of dollars in profit offshore.

Senior Car Insurance – What to Know

admin — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 02:30:16 +0000

Seniors Car Insurance Issues

Have you ever paid the auto policy premiums for a teenager? If so, you probably found out that insurers consider them high risk, and so rates are usually pretty high. Older drivers, past 70, can also fall into a high risk group and cost more to cover!

Learn more about: Over 50s Car Insurance

While seniors have some really positive things in their favor, like maturity and lots of experience, they may also have some issues. While a teen lacks this maturity and experience, they usually have good eyesight and fast reflexes Seniors may have some age related health problems which cause a decline of physical functioning.

Many of us lose vision as we get older. Night vision becomes progressively worse as well. Older people need to pay attention to their vision. It is important to keep eye exam appointments, and they may need to be scheduled more often than they would for a younger person.

Our muscles also tend to lose tone which makes us weaker. Muscle or joing pain, caused by athritis, is common. It can make it harder to react quickly.

Even the best older drivers may find that it is more difficult to operate a vehicle, especially in high traffic situations

This is why rates can go up for senior drivers. Rates may start to increase about age 70. Some insurers will not accept drivers over 80 though others will insure drivers up to age 99.

Any bill that increases can be hard for seniors to budget for. Since lots of older and retired people have to make do on a fixed income, higher premiums may be impossible to budget for. There are some ways to save money though.

Since many older people have retired, they may not need to drive as much as younger workers who need to commute to jobs. A low mileage discount can be a good way to get lower premiums. It is also important to make sure the vehcile is safe and kept up as insurers will also charge less for vehciles that they consider safer.

Seniors are no different than any other drivers in one respect It is important to do comparison shopping to make sure you get the best deal.

Insurers are not all the same. Sometimes older people have had a long history with one particular company or another. But this may not always be the insurer who is willing to offer the best price or policy. Online quote forms make it fast and simple to compare prices and plans to make sure you find the best insurer for your current needs!

Do you care for an aging person. Before you let them drive, be sure they can handle the car safely. You will not be doing that older person a favor by allowing them to drive when illness or infirmity makes them unsafe.

They can hurt themselves, and they can hurt other people! Taking away car keys may be very difficult, but it is possible to find other forms of transportation. Your community may have low cost or even free, senior transportation. Some senior health plans offer free rides to medical appointments as a benefit.

This will help keep the older person safe, and it will give your whole family peace of mind.

Does Medicare Cover Dental or Vision?

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:39:46 +0000

Dental and Vision with Medicare

Lots of people want to know if Medicare covers dental work or vision care. After all, these medical services can be very expensive too, and no less in aging people. But while some Medicare Advantage plans may have some dental coverage, most of these services are not covered by Medicare. Retirees may also have these benefits covered through their job’s retirement plan.

Medicare Dental

Here is what Medicare.gov has to say about Dental care under Medicare.

Medicare does not cover routine dental care or most dental procedures such as cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions or dentures. In rare cases, Medicare Part B will pay for certain dental services. In addition, Medicare Part A will pay for certain dental services that you get when you are in the hospital. Call your local Medicare Carrier for more information.

So most routine dental care will not be covered. Under certain situations, usually if dental work is needed because of an accident or illness, some services may be covered. Go ahead and check first. Good resources are your Medicare office or a supplemental Medicare health insurance company you are a member of.

Vision (Optical) Services Under Medicare

This is similar to Medicare Dental Coverage in that routine treatment like vision exams, eyeglasses, etc. are not normally covered. Surgery, or other treatment by an M.D. should be covered under Medicare Part B. If you are unsure, check with a Medicare office or your supplemental health insurance.

Save Money on Dental and Vision

Medicare beneficiaries, or other people without dental plans, may enjoy some great savings with a national dental (vision) discount plan. While these plans are not insurance, they admit you into network discounts, which is similar to a benefit provided by many insurance plans.

There are dozens of good quality dental discount plans, and you can perform a simple zip code search to find the best ones in your local area. Find Dental Discounts.

Medicare Health Plans

Some Medicare Advantage Plans or retirement health plans may provide dental and vision benefits. If you are interested in seeing if you have the best plan for you, or for somebody you care for, you can compare Medicare Health Plans here.

Medicare Changes for 2010

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:30:46 +0000

Will Medicare Change Much in 2010?

Some beneficiaries will not notice a big change while others may be affected. That is because the documented differences between 2009 and 2010 will only affect certain members, and not all of them.

Online Medicare Health Plan Information Sources

Of course, you have a couple of ways to find more information online. The US government keeps medicare.gov as a very good resource for consumers and agents all across the USA. You can also use a Medicare health plan quote form to find the plans and professionals in your local area.

Changes to Medicare Supplements

You probably have heard about all of the different levels of Medigap or Medicare Supplement health insurance plans. They have letters, like Plan A, B, C, etc. This should not be cofused with Part A, Part B, which are the parts of original Medicare that most seniors and many disabled people use as their public health option.

Some plans will no longer be marketed to new business, though apparently existing members can keep them. And two new plans (Plan M and Plan N) are being introduced. These are both similar to Plan F, but either require copays or high deductible payments, and so they should have lower premiums.

All Medicare Supplement plans will include hospice care, but some preventative and home recovery benefits are scheduled to be removed.

It is important for Medigap members to understand these changes so they know how their health care will be affected. If any of the affected people are unhappy with these changes, it is also important to be able to explore options.

Medicare Part B Premiums

Almost all beneficiaries do pay a premium for Part B. This will not change for most people who already had this sum deducted from their social security checks. New Medicare beneficiaries, and those with a high income, may see a 15% increase. I am sure that the fact that this premium will not increase in 2010 will be welcome news new social security recipients who learned they will not get a raise this year.

Get More Help Understanding Your Health Benefits

As we wrote above, Medicare.gov is a good resource. For a simpler summary you may want to refer to this article – Compare Medicare Health Plans.

Life Insurance At Your Age? (Over 50 to Seniors)

admin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:15:09 +0000

Life Insurance For Older People

What kind of life insurance do you want. Learn more about the advantages of whole life or term life for older people.

————————–

Just because you have turned 50, or even 65, does not mean you cannot find affordable life insurance.
When you were younger, you may have had a group policy through your job. Or perhaps you took out a 20 or 30 year term policy and thought that would be enough to get your through your working and raising kids years. That probably sounded like a good plan. After all, you could buy cheaper term with enough of a death benefit to provide for your children and spouse, pay off a mortgage, and provide financial security in case something happened to you.

The thing is, you probably outlived that coverage. That’s what major insurers count on when they sell you those cheaper term policies. Now, just when it is harder to find affordable coverage, you may find that you would still like to provide that same financial security for your loved ones.
Why would an older person even want life insurance?

As we get older, we still find that coverage can be a good part of our financial plans. A spouse may still need our incomes. Sometimes kids do not go out and become independent on their own, and they do need us to provide for them. In fact, many of those kids come home again, and they bring their own kids.
And those mortgages also do not get paid off on schedule all of the time. Sometimes we refinance our home loans, take out a second mortgage, or even move and take on a new mortgage.

Owning a business can give you another big reason to buy coverage at an older age. If the business owner passes away, they need to make sure that there is money to replace their contributions. In addition, only one family member may inherit the company. Other family members may need to be compensated because they do not get to run the business.

Alternatives for older people’s life insurance are on the market these days.

Americans are living longer, and so insurers are more willing to extend coverage to older people. They are also offering lower rates. In fact, rates may be lower now than they were 10 years ago. It is good to know that something is cheaper than it used to be.

You can certainly find many alternatives. Your choices may be limited by several unique factors though. Your age, health, and where you live matter. In addition, you need to find the type of life insurance that will work best for you. It can be really tough to sort through all of the companies and products on the market these days.

You can find online insurance quote forms to help you save time and money. Just fill your own basic information in one time, and then click the submit button. You will be able to sit back and relax because competitive companies will send you their information so you can find the best plans.

We can help you find older people’s life insurance with our safe, fast, and free life insurance quotes.

What is Senior Life Insurance?

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:09:57 +0000

Have you heard of senior life insurance plans?

If you ever watched daytime TV, you must have seen ads for products like the Golden Plan or Platinum Care plan, or some colors that suggest silver hair and a pleasant old age. They promise to cover senior citizens in their retirement years, though some will market to people in their 40′s or 50′s too. You usually see a silver haired TV personality or a pleansant looking older couple discussing their worry about not having enough life insurance in retirement. If you are a senior citizen, or if you care for an older person, you must have noticed these ads unless you never watch tv during the day.

Whole Life Insurance With Smaller Face Values

Actually these tv spots are put on to get your interested in whole life insurance plans for seniors. They have smaller face values, from a couple of thousand to a couple of tens of thousands, that have been designed to be easy for most older people to qualify for, and also affordable for many families.

Sometimes these plans are also called burial plans or final expense insurance. They are intended as a way for older people to make financial plans for those expenses that come at the end of life. One large expense would be a funeral, of course. But the plans could also pay out cash to settle debts, help survivors travel, and they could even leave some extra money as an estate.

Who Buys and Needs Senior Life Insurance?

Sometimes an older person will purchase a policy for themselves. Sometimes the concerned children or other close family member will pay the premium. The insured person must still answer application questions and sign the application, but the policy could be owned by another person. It is, of course, a delicate subject to discuss. But many times the older person, who wants to be insured, will bring up the subject. The other family members have also been concerned about the high cost of funerals, realize that they don’t have that much savings, and are happy to cooperate.

How To Find Final Expense?

If you are curious, you can get more information on plans and policies that are marketed in your area. It is always good to do some comparison shopping because, as with any other type of insurance, the price and policy will vary by location.

Visit Here: Final Expense Insurance For Seniors

Is Final Expense the Only Option?

Actually some reasonably healthy older people can still qualify for other types of life insurance, and that even includes cheaper term insurance. The choice of policy will depend upon your own goals.

You may want to check out your options here: Term Life For Older People

Are Older People Buying Life Insurance?

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:53:38 +0000

Who Needs Life Insurance?

Well, lots of people need life insurance, but when you look at the market, you see a lot of term life being aggressively marketed to younger people. And sure, that group of people want to make sure that their family has financial security in case they pass away. Younger parents, for instance, want to make sure that their family has a place to live and some money to help with bills and education. But even though parents in their 20s, 30s, and 40s may be prudent to purchase life insurance, they do not really believe that they have a large risk of passing away at an early age!

I would think that older people would be more concerned about coverage. After 65, people start seeing some of their friends get sick, or they think about how old their own parents were when they passed away. And just because somebody has passed the traditional retirement age, does not mean that they are finished with all of their financial obligations. Especially today, people are working longer, running businesses, and still paying on home mortages!

Note: Find Life Insurance For Older People

According to a Wall Street Journal article, people of 65 only had 4% of the total dollars worth of US life insurance in force. And yet that population – people over 65 – account for 74% of the deaths in our total population! At an age when you would think that people would be very concerned about having life insurance, older people do seem to lack it!

Many may have had a policy, but term policies expire after 20 – 30 years. Or maybe some people had coverage through work, but it lapsed when they left their job. Now, at an age when coverage should be a big concern, these people do not have it!

Can Older People Still Find Life Insurance?

Actually, the news about the market for older people’s life insurance is mostly good. Many retirement age people can find no medical exam life for senior citizens, and can qualify for whole or term life policies. In addition, because statistics show that people are living longer and healthier lives, the rates are actually going down!

Medicare Health Insurance Plans Explained

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:13:59 +0000

Still Don’t Understand Medicare Health Insurance?

It is sort of ironic, that now that we get older, we have to go back to the Plan A, B, Cs, and Ds of Medicare Health Insurance! In fact, now that we have even more health insurance choices for Medicare beneficiaries, it can be even tougher to select the right plans.

Get Help and Find Medicare Plan Quotes by Zip Code: Compare Medicare Health Insurance Policies

Original Medicare Health Insurance

Original Medicare, active since the 1960′s consisted of Plan A and B. These are hospital and medical insurance plans that were designed to help seniors and disabled people control their medical costs, but not to pay for everything. Most qualified Americans will not have to pay an extra premium for part A, but will have a premium for Part B. This premium is often deducted from social security checks so many people are not even aware of it.

Medicare Part D and Part C

A few years ago, another Medicare plan called Part C (Medicare Advantage) was allowed. Private insurers can offer policies to qualified Medicare beneficiaries. Just recently, Medicare part D (Prescription Coverage) was announced. These are also private plans, subsidized by tax dollars, that should help seniors and disabled people control their prescription medicine costs.

Medicare supplements are different, as they supplement the gaps in original Medicare. Part A and Part B both have deductibles, limits, and copays so covered people can still have out of pocket expenses. The different levels of Med Sups (Medi Gap) policies pay for some of these expenses.

Learn More : Medicare Supplements vs. Medicare Advantags vs. Medicare Prescription

Term Life Insurance For Mid Life and Beyond

admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:01:01 +0000

Most financial experts will advise clients to choose term life insurance, rather than whole or universal life insurance. Since term is pure life coverage, it is cheaper than whole life, and the rest of the money can be deposited into other investments that will provide a sort of self insurance later.

For 30 year olds, this choice may be a no brainer. But older people find it harder to qualify for term policies, and of course, find that rates are creeping up. If your old term policy has expired, or if you lost coverage from your workplace, you can look into term life insurance for older people. Middle aged people can find some good information on life insurance for over 50. You can still find coverage at age 60 or 65, but are unlikely to find a 30 year term.

If you have some health issues, or are well into retirement, you may need to look at a smaller whole life insurance policy. We explain whole life insurance here, and have some great ways to find life insurance for seniors. Sometimes seniors life insurance is called final expense, and here are final expense insurance quotes for you.