Best Life Insurance for Seniors Over 60
- Learn about some of the top choices when you're seeking the best life insurance for seniors over 60. Understand which life insurance policies meet your specific needs.
As an older adult, you may feel you've passed the window for purchasing life insurance. In fact, life insurance is a smart and even necessary choice for many seniors. Many seniors over 60 opt for life insurance to handle end-of-life expenses, including any unpaid debts or outstanding medical bills, as well as to provide an inheritance for children or grandchildren.
If you're looking for the best life insurance for seniors over 60, there are many excellent options, often at rates that are lower than you might expect. A variety of life insurance products exist to meet different needs. Take a look at these top picks to find the right coverage for your unique situation.
Best Life Insurance for Seniors Over 60
- Mutual of Omaha: Best life insurance for seniors over 60 overall
- AIG: Best final expense insurance
- Transamerica: Best for seniors over 80
- Protective: Best for low premiums
- Mass Mutual: Best for whole life insurance
- Prudential: Best living benefits
- Northwestern Mutual: Best for wealth transfer and estate planning
Mutual of Omaha: Overall Best Life Insurance for Seniors Over 60
Mutual of Omaha offers whole life insurance policies from $2,000 to $25,000 with guaranteed acceptance to applicants between the ages of 45 and 85. Guaranteed acceptance means you don't have to take a medical exam or fill out a health questionnaire, which can be a relief for older adults who may have pre-existing health conditions. Yes, you'll pay a higher premium for this insurance — but you'll be able to get the coverage you want. You may not be able to cash out your policy easily, however.
Also offered are universal life insurance and term life coverage starting at $100,000, with terms ranging from 10 to 30 years. This term policy is available to seniors up to age 80, with annual renewals to age 95. If you live past the term, you may receive some of your premiums back.
Some of the non-guaranteed policy options do require a medical exam, and some are only available for purchase through an agent. Riders are available for chronic illness, long-term care, accidental death and residential damage.
Mutual of Omaha's pricing is fairly competitive, and its customer service is generally rated as excellent. The company's website is easy to use, filing claims is straightforward and phone support is readily available.
AIG: Best Final Expense Insurance
AIG offers final expense insurance, which is whole life insurance designed to deal with end-of-life costs, including funeral expenses. These policies offer lower amounts of coverage, ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, with chronic and terminal illness accelerated death benefits as part of the policies at no additional charge. No medical exams are required for anyone under 80 years old, and coverage is available for those up to 100 years old.
Term life insurance is available with 18 term lengths, with a maximum of 35 years. AIG's Quality of Life policies include living benefits, which allow you to access up to 50% of the death benefit to pay for medical care for a chronic or terminal illness. The living benefits are included for free; other insurers often impose a surcharge for these benefits.
AIG, however, doesn't get great reviews for customer service. It also provides only limited death benefits for the first two years with the policy for deaths resulting from anything other than accidents.
Transamerica: Best for Seniors Over 80
Transamerica offers term, whole and universal life insurance coverage to seniors up to 85, with a far wider range of options available than many of its competitors offer and terms ranging from 10 to 30 years. Premiums are relatively low, with level premiums to age 121 on its guaranteed final expense policy. Several living benefit riders are available, including accelerated death benefits and benefits to children and grandchildren.
The company also offers higher death benefits for older adults than many other insurers, with maximums of $40,000 for those aged 56 to 65, $30,000 for those aged 66 to 75 and $25,000 for those aged 76 to 85. Full benefits are available as soon as you buy the policy, without the two-year delay imposed by many other companies. Some policies do not require medical exams.
Transamerica lags a bit in customer service, largely because its website isn't as functional as it could be and because it requires customers to work with insurance agents, even just to receive a quote.
Protective: Best for Low Premiums
Protective offers term life insurance with guaranteed level premiums throughout the life of the policy, with a vast coverage range from $100,000 to $50 million. If you're a senior over 65, however, only terms of 10 or 15 years are available. Protective's premiums are typically lower than its competitors, making it a prime choice for older adults looking for inexpensive rates.
If you're interested in cashing out your policy, however, Protective may not provide good access to cash value. Some customers have also complained about its claims-paying process.
Mass Mutual: Best for Whole Life Insurance
MassMutual's simplified whole life insurance is essentially permanent insurance that covers you until death. Coverages range from $2,000 to $25,000. Mass Mutual's unique Direct Term policy starts out as term insurance but can be switched to whole life insurance once you're 65 or older. You can borrow against the cash value of this policy, once converted, and beneficiaries receive a guaranteed death benefit.
Mass Mutual also offers other whole life insurance policies with much higher limits than those typically available to seniors. However, Mass Mutual's life insurance for seniors doesn't offer any living benefits, and you need to choose it relatively early, as online application is only available to those under 65.
Prudential: Best Living Benefits
Prudential offers policies with accelerated death benefits, also known as living benefits, that pay as much as 95% of the full death benefit. These come in the form of three riders for serious illness and three separate riders for disability, all of which may attach to term or universal life policies. These benefits are available to seniors who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness or who have been in a nursing home for at least six months.
One caveat here is that the company's accelerated death benefits are not available in all states, so check to make sure that you're able to get the benefits you're interested in. In addition, the riders must be purchased along with the original policy, and you must be under 80 to purchase them. Prudential's pricing is competitive.
Northwestern Mutual: Best for Wealth Transfer and Estate Planning
Northwestern Mutual has outstanding financial strength, which plays into the many types of policies it offers with a focus on building wealth and transferring it to the next generation. Its term, whole life and universal life insurance coverage is available on both an individual and survivorship basis. The company issues term life insurance up to age 80, with terms of 10, 20 or 30 years, or terms lasting to a specific age. Term policies are sometimes eligible for dividends or may be blended with whole life policies.
Northwestern's whole life policies and survivorship policies are also eligible for dividends. Both whole life and universal life policies are available as survivorship policies, which function as a means of wealth transfer. Some whole life policies also contain estate plans, with customizable guaranteed death benefits, premium options and cash values. Accelerated death benefits and other riders are available on many plans.