What is Over 60s Life Assurance?

Is 60 too late to take out life insurance?

It’s best to buy life insurance when you’re a Spring chicken.

However.

Most of us avoid thinking about the great beyond until someone we know gets sick or passes away.

You might have found yourself in this situation recently. If so, let me offer my condolences.

But, I’m not going to lie to you: if you’re in your sixties and you haven’t got Life Insurance sorted, you’re probably gonna be in a bit of a pickle.

It could be that you never really thought about it, and now it’s occurred to you that you should probably get it sorted.

Or it could be that you had another policy that you cancelled because you thought it was too expensive.

Ehm, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. It’s going to be even more expensive now.

Maybe your policy ran out, and it didn’t have a conversion option to renew it without having to hand over medical information (shame on whoever sold you that pup).

Today, you’re likely a couple of decades older than you were when you took out your first policy, and it’s also likely that your bill of health isn’t quite so clean anymore.

You may think you’re up the proverbial without a paddle, but you can get it sorted with the right info.

Over 60’s Life Assurance is one option; it’s Life Assurance without medical questions.

You sign a form, and the insurer gives you cover immediately.

If you know anything about insurance, you’re probably thinking,

Hang on a minute there, Nick. That sounds too good to be true…

Well.

It is.

And a heads up, if you’re a spritely 50-odd, it’s also known as over 50s non-medical insurance – so you can keep reading.

Onto the big question: should you buy it?

Should you buy over 60s non-medical life insurance?

Spoiler alert: NO!

Over 50s/60s, non-medical Life Insurance is the last chance saloon. If you’re quite ill, it’s a good idea. For everyone else, it’s reallllllllllly expensive.

Yes, anyone can get it regardless of health, and it’s a Whole of Life policy, so it lasts (as the name suggests) as long as you keep paying. Once you hit 90, you stop paying premiums, and your coverage continues for free.

I mean, you’ll be 90, so I don’t know how much you’ll care, but your kids will probably still be interested in this little fact.

So all being said, if you’re in ill health, this policy sounds like a decent option.

Look, I’m not telling you outright *not* to do it, especially if you’ve exhausted every other option, but there are a bunch of catches to look out for:

Because everyone is offered the same price regardless of health, it’s a lot more expensive than the alternatives.
Only accidental death is covered in the first two years of the policy, so if you die of an illness in the first two years, only what you’ve paid in will be paid out.
The maximum sum assured is €25,000 for Over 60s Life Assurance.

Basically, it’s not great.

But I’ve seen those ads for Over 60s Life Assurance, and it’s so cheap!

Yup, I’ve seen those too.

But, the ‘too good to be true’ life insurance deals usually turn out to be just that. So, don’t be fooled by a sunny ad featuring some chirpy actors offering a “free” gift.

If you can read the small print, the quotes on the screen are for a tiny amount of cover.

Life assurance from €1.67 per week**

**(for €250 cover)

What are the alternatives to Over 60s Life Assurance?

So now that we’ve established that Over 60s Life Assurance probably isn’t right for you, you’re likely scratching your head in bafflement and thinking that you won’t be able to get cover and that your children will be sentenced to a life of poverty, despite the fact they’re probably grown-ass adults with lives of their own.

However.

Your options aren’t as restricted as you might think. You can still apply for normal Life Insurance, meaning: Term Life and Whole of Life.

1. Term Life Assurance

Having health issues doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get coverage. I’ve talked about that a LOT on this blog. Now, I’m not gonna presume you’ve read all my blogs, so I’m gonna point you to a link where you can see everything I’ve written about getting Life Insurance if you’ve got an illness.

It could be that you’ve looked after yourself impeccably and are in great health. It could also be that you’ve mainlined a bottle of whiskey a week since you were 12 and are somehow in great health too.

Either way, the easiest way to find out if you can get Life Insurance is to contact me. I’ll go to all five insurers on your behalf to see what kind of deal we can get you.

And to recap, Term Life covers you for a set term up to age 89.

As you’re in your sixties, it’ll be more expensive than the cover you took out in your 30s – but it’s still a better idea than non-medical Over 60s Life Assurance.

2. Whole of Life

Everything I said in point numero uno applies here, too, except that (as the name suggests) Whole of Life covers you for your whole life.

Naturally, that makes it more expensive than Term Life because the insurer is on the hook for a lot of money. Unlike term insurance, you can’t outlive this policy, so the insurer has to recoup some of the payout in the form of the monthly premium it charges you.

The insurance providers underwrite/assess Whole of Life Cover on the same basis as Term Life, so you’ll have to complete a full application form answering questions about your health.

It will be more expensive, so people tend to use it for funeral insurance instead of a more traditional nest egg for their family.

(Make sure you avoid Reviewable Whole of Life because that’s a trap offered by asshole insurers. Trust me on that one!)

The moral of the story here is that you shouldn’t take Over 60s Life Assurance unless you have no other options.

Term Life or Whole of Life are better– and less likely to trip you up!

My parents have a Reviewable Whole of Life Policy – what can they do?

They can and should replace it with a fixed price term or whole of life plan.

Hopefully, they are in good health, so switching will be easy.

Ask them to check if there is a cash value on their plan; if they cancel the policy, they can get their hands on the cash value.

Unfortunately, if there is no cash value on the policy, they are in for a huge jump in premiums the next time the insurer reviews their policy.

Get in touch if you need some help.

Over to you…

If you’re considering Life Assurance and have health issues, please complete this questionnaire or call me on 05793 20836.

I’ll speak with my underwriters to assess your chances of getting regular Life Insurance and a fair price.

Complete this questionnaire if you’re fit as a fiddle and have never been sick a day in your life.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully, I’ll hear from you soon.

Nick