Buying a Term Insurance Online Is It Applicable for Senior Citizen

Gone are those days when term insurance for the elderly seemed to be a distant dream. Insurance companies have started realizing the fact that this is a segment which requires life cover the most and is also willing to pay a bit more to be able to secure the future of their children.

Term insurance plans are by far the most primitive, affordable and basic form of life insurance. These types of life insurance plans offer a lump sum amount to your beneficiary/ beneficiaries in case you face any contingency/ eventuality. This is definitely something every independent person in the later stage of life must consider. In short, if you are a senior citizen above 50 who doesn’t have a life cover till now, term insurance is the best investment for you as it can:

- Secure your dependent spouse who might otherwise become a liability over the children or might be left on his/her own.

- Cover any financial liabilities and debts you may leave behind in the event of your death

- Cover expensive medical bills

- Leave a small legacy for your children

- Take care of your funeral expenses

- Secure and protect the future of any financially dependent child

- Help in compensating for the income you were earning post-retirement

- Help in compensating for any tax and legal fees against your property

What Should We Look for in a Term Insurance for Senior Citizens
When you buy a life insurance policy, you must be really aware of what you are signing in for and the benefits you can avail. Most of the insurance providers have specific term insurance packages for senior citizens designed to suit their unique requirements. Let us look at some common things a senior citizen must be careful about while buying a term insurance policy.

#1. Sum Insured
The term insurance plan for senior citizen has a clause wherein, if case of death of a senior citizen within two years of the policy commencement, the nominee gets a 125% of the sum insured. This would ensure a good lump sum amount and assured financial security for the dependents. In case the insurer dies after two years, the dependents would still get the sum insured promised.

#2.  Age Limitation
Even though senior citizen term insurance packages start late, you need to ensure that you start it early as every passing year makes it more expensive due to the plethora of health conditions you become susceptible to. Make your purchase the moment the idea strikes you and not put it off any longer.

#3. Health Management
Every health condition you might have, increases the insurance premium amount you would have to pay. Ensure that you buy your policy when you are comparatively healthier than waiting for some ailment to strike you.

This would ensure that you get a better bargain for the money you plan to invest in the life insurance policy.

#4.  Compare Compare Compare
This must be your mantra while looking out for any life insurance package and more for a senior citizen plan. There are a lot of insurance companies and a variety of options. The best option would be just to check it online. You should look out for the best solution which covers all the financial needs of your family and not just for some cheap insurance plan from some insurance provider.

#5.  Insurance limit
There is no hard and fast rule of what the ideal insurance amount needs to be. You must be able to decide the kind of cover you need to provide your family and the monetary requirements that might arise immediately which needs to be addressed in the event of your death.

While some might have only a spouse to look after, some other might be leaving behind two or more dependents. Some others might just want to cover their funeral and personal debts if any. Depending on the kind of requirement you have, you need to research on the options available.

#6.  Comprehensive and simple plans
Look out for term plans which come with limited or no medical test requirement for eligibility. Also, it is beneficial if the policy rates are steady for longer durations and if the insurance provider doesn’t have a history of steep change in premium rates in the past.

The Bottom Line
While term insurance for a senior citizen is definitely a possibility and one can always secure the future of their loved ones at any stage of their life, it is more practical to start early.

Recommended Read:
A Short Guide to Buying Term Insurance in India
Myths about term insurance plans

Authored By: Nidhi Mahajan
Nidhi Mahajan is a Guest Blogger and passionate about Content writing. She has been creating SEO Friendly Content for more than 10 years. She can write on all niches for writing and is great at providing tips on SEO and Blogging.