Getting Life Insurance for an 80-Year Old Female
It’s possible to get life insurance for females over 80 years old, believe it or not. Women have several options, but the most common is final expense insurance.
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This isn’t the same as a term or whole life insurance, but it’s usually enough for women in their senior years to cover their final expenses. Recently widowed women often find that they need life insurance suddenly to protect their loved ones financially when preparing for their own death.
Here’s how the process works and how it differs from the process men experience.
How Easy is it to Get Life Insurance for an 80-Year-Old Female?
An 80-year-old female can get final expense insurance without much issue. The policy is typically a simplified issue insurance plan. This means you don’t have to go through a medical exam. To qualify, you answer a few questions about your health.
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You can get covered if you pass the questions that determine if you suffer from any major or chronic illnesses.
If you’re in good health, you may consider a fully underwritten policy since it typically costs less.
If you’re in poor health and know you won’t pass even the simplified issue questions, there’s the option for a guaranteed issue life insurance policy. As the name suggests, you don’t need to qualify for the policy – everyone qualifies, but the premiums are higher, and there’s a two-year waiting period before they will pay benefits.
What Type of Life Insurance is Best for an 80-Year-Old Woman?
Most 80-year-old women do best with a final expense insurance policy. This policy is a whole life insurance policy but at a fraction of the premiums of a traditional whole life policy.
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As the name suggests, the policy only covers your final expenses, such as the funeral, burial, and final medical expenses. Most insurance companies offer coverage of $1,000 – $50,000 at the most, with $20,000 the average policy amount.
If you want to leave your loved ones money, you’ll need a traditional whole life policy. Most whole life insurance policies start at $50,000 and go up to $1 million or more, but at 80 years old, you won’t need nor would you be able to afford such a policy.
Most permanent life policies require a medical exam, so you must be able to pass it, or you’ll pay high premiums that will most likely be unaffordable.
Whole life policies accrue a cash balance in addition to the death benefit, but at 80 years old, there’s not likely enough time for you to accumulate enough cash or time to use it.
What are the Premiums for an 80-Year-Old Female?
Insurance premiums for females are almost always lower than men’s premiums.
Here’s why.
Women have a longer lifespan and a lower risk of premature death. However, premiums are based on your health and lifestyle. If you choose an underwritten policy and it shows that you aren’t in good health, you may pay higher premiums than men.
Since final expense policies are the most common for senior women, here’s what most women pay at 80 years old:
$5,000 death benefit – $750/year
$10,000 death benefit – $1,500/year
If you were to compare that to the premiums for term life insurance for an 80-year-old woman, you’d be looking at premiums as high as $25,000 a year.
Now let’s look at the same premiums for an 80-year-old male:
$5,000 death benefit – $1,000/year
$10,000 death benefit – $2,000/year
Final Thoughts
Consider final expense insurance if you’re a woman in her 80s and need life insurance. It’s usually the most affordable and provides the required coverage. However, while term and whole life insurance might be available, it’s usually unaffordable for most seniors, even women with lower premiums.
