Best life insurance for someone that is about 70? Anything to look for?

Question

Best life insurance for someone that is about 70? Anything to look for?

Answer 1

A savings account.  Honestly, at that age, you're not going to get "odds".  Unless you're trying to avoid estate taxes, it's going to be cheaper to just put the money in the bank.  You can't pay $100 a year and get $10,000 when grandpa kicks off, if he's 70 now.  

Any of those "guaranteed issue" policies will cost about $60 per month, per thousand, and you have to live at least two years, before you can collect.  Do the math.  You're better off saving the money.

Answer 2

Whether you choose term or whole life, your premiums will be higher just because of your age.  Don't do something like burial insurance - usually it has such a small payout and high premiums that you're better off just putting the money in a savings account.  

If your health is good, don't be afraid to take the medical exam required to get a better quality policy.  If the company feels you are a good health risk, your premiums will be a little bit lower.

Consider talking to a local independent insurance agent.  They usually work with a bunch of different companies, so they'll know who is most likely to accept you at your current age and health.  You can also shop around online and see who might consider covering you.  There are plenty of places to get free quotes, like insurance-rates-online.com which provides a list of companies offering life insurance based on your zip code.

Answer 3

I agree that the guaranteed issue policies aren't a great deal.  But fully underwritten policies have better rates of return for the money, the older you get.  This is especially true when you consider an equivalent taxable rate of return.  

(My fellow insurance pros who don't understand this could not be considered experts in this field, and should avoid answering these questions.)

Try defining your goals first, and then go shopping.  I recommend you meet with at least 3 different insurance brokers to get multiple perspectives.  It might be that after discovering what the market offers, insurance isn't the best route for you, but that's for you to decide.

Answer 4

You shouldn't need life insurance at your age.  By  70 you should of already saved up enough $$.  Its actually better to invest the funds to gain interest, because in the long run you'll have more $$ than what the insurance check would be.

Answer 5

My mother was looking at possibly getting life insurance at age 78 more as an inheritance thing than because she needed it.  The $160,000 policy would give each of use kids $40,000 until her estate was settled.  She has always been thrifty, has a pension from our dad and required minimum distributions (RMD) from her IRA.  She cannot convert RMD's from her IRA to Roth IRA, but can convert anything she draws beyond that.

But I am not sure if she got the policy or not.  My brother (who retired at age 32) takes care of her investments and the family trust my dad set aside when he passed away (we get monthly reports).  She is in excellent health and could live another 20 years.