Over 50s life insurance

Over 50s life insurance policies are designed to help those who may not have bought life insurance before, or are struggling to find an insurance company that will offer them a standard policy.

As long as you keep paying your premiums, an over 50s policy will pay out whenever you die because there is no fixed policy term. This kind of policy is known as whole of life insurance. Some insurers will waive premiums after you turn 90 and give you free cover until you die.

One of the advantages of an over 50s plan is that you won’t be asked to fill in a medical questionnaire so you can’t be refused a policy on medical grounds. Premiums are based on the amount of cover you want, your age and whether or not you smoke.

For the Insurers this means there is a high risk of paying out on a policy before they have had the opportunity to collect many premiums, because the insured person has an existing medical condition. To protect against this, insurers build a minimum term into a policy. This means that should you die before that set period of time has passed – say the first two years of the policy – they won’t pay out.

Over 50s life insurance can be more complicated than typical life insurance, so it would be a good idea to get the appropriate financial advice before buying such a policy.