What Age Should You Get Life Insurance?
No matter what age you are, life insurance can help you make sure your loved ones are taken care of financially if anything were to happen to you.
There’s no hard and fast rule for when you should take out a life insurance policy, but it’s something that everyone should consider – for your own peace of mind, and that of your loved ones.
Throughout this article, we take a look at the influence your age has on the costs of life insurance, what stage in your life you should consider life insurance, and how over 50s life insurance works.
What Age Should I Take Out Life Insurance?
There’s no set age for when you should take out a life insurance policy, but you usually need to be at least 18 years old.
When you should take out life insurance depends much more on your circumstances than it does your age. If your main concern is ensuring that your dependents are able to continue their lifestyles until they’re old enough to take care of themselves, you might want to consider taking out a term life insurance policy.
On the other hand, if you’re more worried about taking care of your affairs and any outstanding bills, a guaranteed lump sum life insurance plan, such as over 50s life insurance might be a better option.
It’s worth noting that delaying taking out a life insurance plan until later on in life could mean that you end up paying a higher premium when you do.
What is the Minimum Age for Life Insurance?
Generally speaking, you need to be at least 18 years old to take out a life insurance policy.
However, some specialist life insurance plans like our Over 50s Life Insurance are designed specifically to suit set age groups, so you’ll need to be a certain age to be eligible.
Anyone aged between 50 and 80 can get a quote and apply for our Over 50s Life Insurance.
How Does Age Affect Life Insurance Premiums?
In general, younger people pay less for life insurance plans than older people do. This is because they’re considered lower risk, as they’re statistically less likely to pass away during the term of the policy. This risk increases with age so some insurers may only insure people up to a maximum age. However, this varies between different insurers.
However, age is not the only thing that impacts the cost of a life insurance plan. Some insurers will also consider additional factors such as:
- Your job
- Your height and weight
- Whether or not you smoke
- How much alcohol you consume
- Any high-risk hobbies you have
- Your health and any medical conditions
- How much protection you want from the policy
- How long you want the cover to last
If you look to take out a life insurance policy out when you are older, the premiums could be higher based on your age. In addition, if you have any underlying health issues, the premium could be increased further. This is when the premium is ‘loaded’ or ‘rated’. Also, the insurer may also exclude certain pre-existing medical conditions or hobbies in the event of a claim or decline the application outright.
Not all types of life insurance will require you to answer lengthy medical questions. For example, our Over 50s Life Insurance, which offers a guaranteed cash payout when you die is based solely on your age, and whether you smoke. As long as you’re over 50 years old, then you’re guaranteed to be accepted, without the need for a medical.
What Age Does Life Insurance Stop?
The age that a life insurance policy stops at depends on the insurer and the type of cover they have agreed to provide.
Term life insurance runs until the end of an agreed upon term, such as 10 or 20 years. After this time period, the cover will end, and at that point you may want to consider taking out a new policy.
If you take out a term policy and the cover comes to an end, or the policy is cancelled, you could find that the policy and the cover you had in place could potentially have higher premiums as you are older. Also, if your health and/or lifestyle has changed then this may also affect what type of policy you can take out, as well as the cost.
On the other hand, with whole of life insurance plans you’ll continue to be covered until the end of your life.
Life Insurance for Over 50s
Many life insurance policies can be taken out once you’ve turned 18, but others are designed for people who are past a certain age, such as Over 50s Life Insurance.
Our Over 50s Life Insurance offers guaranteed acceptance, with no medical questionnaires needed. Once accepted, the policy includes a guaranteed cash lump sum payout, and you also have the option to add on additional funeral support with Co-op Funeralcare.
Our premiums are affordable and never increase, and you’ll only have to pay premiums up to a maximum age of 90, or for 30 years – whichever is less.
For more information about our Over 50s Life Insurance plan, watch our video:
Be sure to read through our plan summary and terms and conditions. Remember that when you invest, your capital is at risk.
More information about over 50s life insurance
Important things to consider
- If your circumstances change and you stop paying the premiums, your life cover will end after three missed premiums.
- Over 50s Life Insurance has no cash in value at any time, so if you cancel it after the first 30 days you will get nothing back.
- Your life cover does not start until after the second anniversary of your plan start date, as shown in your plan illustration, unless you die as a result of an accident, in which case your life cover begins from the start date shown on your plan illustration.
- This life plan is not a funeral plan and therefore may not cover the full cost of a funeral.
- Over time, although the amount we pay out on death is fixed, this amount is likely to reduce in value because of the effects of inflation.
- If you live long enough the total premiums you have paid may be greater than the amount payable on death.
All references to taxation are to UK taxation and are based on Shepherds Friendly Society’s understanding of current legislation and H M Revenue and Customs practice which may change in the future. Please ensure that you read the full terms and conditions of this plan which are available from your financial adviser or by contacting us directly.
Please note: No advice has been provided by Shepherds Friendly. If you are in any doubt as to whether a plan is suitable for you, we recommend getting in touch with a financial adviser, who will be happy to take you through what options are available. Should you consult a financial adviser there could be a cost involved and you should confirm this cost beforehand.