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Life insurance over 70s is specially designed for people that are older than 70. Not all people took advantage of life insurance while they were young and healthy. Indeed, it is common for people to start thinking about security and death only when they face medical problems or fear that they will not be able to provide income for they relatives and family members. Other people believe that they are able to save enough money themselves without the help form life insurance providers. As a result, a lot of elderly people now face difficulties when they want to insure their lives. Either they are rejected from conventional life insurance program or are offered to pay very high premiums.
Most elderly people usually do not need big life insurance covers. They are no longer working and are only living from their pension. These people can be calm since they know that their children are independent and no longer need financial help. Elderly people often are not interest in life insurance policies that offer a combination of protection and investment benefits since these policies require to pay very high premiums and are risky. Most people take out a mortgage in their late thirties and the maximum term of the loan is 40 years. As a result, most of these people have paid off their mortgages. Even if couple of years are still left the amount outstanding is very small.
The reasons for having life insurance for over 70s
There are two most common reasons why people that already reached their golden age search for life insurance cover. The first one is high funeral and medical expenses. According to “Sun Life Direct” insurance company the average funeral cost in United Kingdom in 2011 was £ 3 091. What is more, “BBC” calculated that the average cost of death in United Kingdom reached £ 7 248 last year. These prices are constantly growing due to inflation and aging population. As a result, people want to insure that they beloved ones will not have to pay for these expenses from their own pocket.
Another very important reason why elderly people take out a life insurance cover is estate planning. If the market value of the estate is high, it is very likely that the dependents will have to pay high inheritance taxes. At the moment the threshold is £ 325 000 for the 2011/2012 tax year. It is important to remember that everything worth over £ 325 000 will be taxed with 40 % tax. Good news are that the threshold for married or civil partners are twice bigger – £ 650 000.
How to choose life insurance provider
There are a lot of over 70s life insurance providers in United Kingdom to choose from. It is important to note that people who are older can look for life insurance companies that offer over 50s or over 60s life insurance policies. For instance, most over 50s life insurance companies accept citizens that are aged from 50 to 80 or even older. Citizens of United Kingdom that are older than 70 can choose to purchase life insurance cover from “LV=”, “Sainsbury’s Finance”, “Shepherds Friendly”, “Scottish Friendly”, “Debenhams”, “Aviva”, “Legal & General”, “Engage Mutual”, “Protect Your Bubble”, “Sun Life Direct” and many more.
Most of these companies guarantee acceptance to the citizens of United Kingdom without medical check up. There are big differences between these companies, though. First of all, the limit of cover varies greatly. Secondly, the expiration date of the cover also differs. For example, “Legal & General” offers unlimited cover whereas “Sainsbury’s Finance” offers the cover that expires once the person reaches the age of 79. Last but not least, all of these companies have the limit of maximum age for a person to be accepted to a life insurance policy. For instance, “Aviva” accepts people up to the age 89 whereas “Shepherds Friendly” only up to the age of 75. In either case, it is very important to find time to shop around and compare all the offers. Insurance brokers can help to compare the offers and advice which one is the best one.
Tips for using life insurance for over 70s
We compare plans from the leading life insurance providers
It is advised for people that are older than 70s to buy a critical illness benefits attached to life insurance. The reason behind this is that when a person gets older there is a higher possibility to become ill with a disease that not necessarily causes death instantly but may require expensive medical treatment or a change in lifestyle. Statistics from reinsurance company “Munich Re” shows that 32 out of every 100 men will develop a critical illness. 15 of them will develop cancer, 10 – a heart attack, 5 will suffer stroke and two will have coronary artery by-pass surgery.
According to World Health Organization, cancer, heart attach and cerebrovascular disease account for approximately 75 % percent of all illnesses that are likely to cause death for people aged 65 and older. Besides these most common illnesses a person should check that such illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease, mental illnesses, Parkinson’s disease, blindness, brain and spinal injury, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, kidney failure be included in critical illness list.