It’s a little more difficult to get life insurance for a 68 year old than it was when you were 30. But it isn’t that much more difficult. They’ll ask you to do an EKG in addition to your medical exam, and any health conditions will add a few hurdles. But it’s still possible to find affordable coverage.
Quick Summary
Make sure to shop around for the best pricing. Every insurance company has different underwriting guidelines for every imaginable scenario. You can either do the legwork yourself or have an independent agent do it for you.
To see rates and tips for other ages, click over to our Term Life Insurance Rates by Age post or use the free Instant Quotes tool on your left. (It's at the top of the page on mobile.)
Can I Get Life Insurance at Age 68?
Yes, absolutely. There are several types of life insurance designed so that even someone in precarious health can qualify.
Some policies can be difficult to get depending on your financial and medical circumstances. Insurance costs more as you get older. Both because of age and the increased likelihood of medical conditions which life insurance companies find concerning.
Overall, if you're moderately healthy, then you can get life insurance as a 68 year old.
How to Save Money on Life Insurance for a 68 Year Old
Even with the increased challenges of finding life insurance at age 68, there are still ways to save money. We’ve seen the following tips help families save thousands of dollars over the life of their policies.
Use a Life Insurance Needs Calculator
Buying the right amount of life insurance is key to making sure you don’t pay too much. There is no sense in wasting money on life insurance beyond your needs. On the other hand, it can also cause additional stress for your beneficiaries to buy too little.
Particularly in your retirement years, you shouldn’t base your life insurance benefits on 3 to 7 times your income. If your income much lower than your working years, that doesn’t necessarily mean the amount of life insurance you need also drops. Your needs depend on why you’re looking into life insurance.
Instead, if you use a life insurance needs calculator, you can see exactly how much will cover your family, down to the dollar. Your family is covered, and you don’t pay a penny more than necessary.
Tell Your Agent About Any Medical Conditions
Every life insurance company treats every medical condition differently. That makes it risky to shop the rates from only a handful of companies. You might get a random few who all overcharge for any health conditions you currently have.
Age 68 and need life insurance quotes? Use the Instant Quotes form on this page. Lowest rates from the leading companies will appear on the next page.
The same holds true for medical conditions you’ve overcome as well. The life insurance underwriters want detailed medical histories. Anything that could possibly affect your lifespan concerns them.
So make sure to talk with your agent about any medical history. They can guide you to the companies who charge the least or don’t worry about it at all.
Get Quotes from an Independent Agent
Some life insurance agents work for life insurance companies. Other agents work for their clients.
The life insurance agents who work for the companies can only sell the products of that company. That means even though you have several options for life insurance products, there is only one set of underwriting guidelines. This brings us back to medical conditions, or even specific age, benefits, or gender.
Some companies just charge for more for medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure. Others charge more than others for gender or benefit levels. For example, men looking for benefits over $1,000,000 might pay an enormous sum at one company compared to another.
The best way to sift through all of these companies is to get quotes from an independent agent. Independent agents work for their clients. They can comparison shop between dozens of companies to see which one will offer the best rates in each scenario.
Consider Renewing or Converting Your Policy
If your health isn’t quite as excellent as it once was, it might be smart to renew or convert your current policy. (This only works if you already have a life insurance policy with renewal or conversion options.)
You have to renew/convert before your current policy expires. Otherwise, you will have to reapply. Most companies do not provide grace periods for this. If you have a policy right now, read through the contract or call your agent to see if this option is available.
Renewing offers an advantage by skipping underwriting. You will pay increased rates because of your age, but you keep your health class. This can provide better rates if your health has decreased since you took out your current policy.
On the other hand, if your health has improved, you may want to requalify instead of renewing. This could mean switching companies or asking your current insurance company if they’ll re-evaluate your health. This can lead to a better health class.
To get specifics on your current situation, talk to your agent about your options.
Term is Cheaper than Permanent, But Not Right For Everyone
Permanent life insurance lasts your lifetime, and nobody lives forever. The insurance company will have to pay out at some point.
With term insurance, the company is rooting for you to outlive your term. Because they aren’t guaranteed to pay out every contract, they can afford to charge much less. Term insurance is usually about 10% - 50% of what the same benefit in permanent life insurance costs.
But instead of shopping on price, it’s essential to pick the type of life insurance that will cover the reason you’re buying it.
Term Life Insurance for a 68 Year Old Male - Quotes
These quotes are rates for a 68 year old man who doesn’t smoke and is in relatively good health. Your prices may be even lower if you’re in excellent health. To compare companies, use the free Instant Quotes tool on the left.
Male Rates | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
10-Year Term | $95 | $194 | $359 | $691 |
20-Year Term | $194 | $427 | $832 | $1,648 |
Term Life Insurance for a 68 Year Old Female - Quotes
These rates for 68 year old women represent someone in relatively good health for her age who doesn’t smoke. Your rates may differ depending on your health, family history, smoking habits, and driving record. Use the free Instant Quotes tool on the left to compare different companies, term lengths, and benefit amounts.
Female Rates | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
10-Year Term | $62 | $117 | $207 | $399 |
20-Year Term | $139 | $305 | $568 | $1,118 |
Permanent Life Insurance
Permanent life insurance is the most popular type of life insurance in the United States, with whole life leading the pack. It makes more sense as people get older too.
The biggest reason to consider permanent life insurance at 68 is for estate planning. It can be used to cover any final expenses, medical bills, estate taxes, or to leave something for loved ones.
Permanent life insurance has extra features not found in term life insurance. The cash value accumulation component builds a cash value in your policy as you pay your premiums. It can be used in various ways, but most people either take advantage of it a low-interest loan or use it to pay premiums.
You can choose from whole life, universal life, or variable life. Each functions a little differently. Whole life has slower, but more stable cash value growth. Universal life varies with the market it’s tied to. Variable life has several complicated moving parts and is best for people with high risk tolerance.
Life Insurance with Pre-Existing Conditions
For most people, age brings health concerns. Health concerns increase life insurance prices. Even with pre-existing medical conditions, life insurance is not impossible. Some will cause greater challenges than others. You can find a guide on life insurance with pre-existing conditions here.
The most important part is to talk with your agent about any medical conditions you have or have experienced in the past five years. They can help you find the company who will best meet your needs and not charge you an arm and a leg. Independent agents can show you the most options. With captive agents, you will have to call each one individually.
If it’s something serious, your agent will pre-screen your medical condition with the insurance company. This is an anonymous process where agents talk to the underwriters at each company and get tentative health classes based on the information you give them. Prescreening prevents surprises in underwriting. Most importantly you won’t go through the whole process and get an offer back at two or three times what you thought you’d be paying.
What if no company accepts my condition?
Some medical conditions are tough to insure. For example, if you currently have some form of cancer, then you can’t get a traditional life insurance policy.
There are other options.
Guaranteed issue life insurance is a type of life insurance which accepts everybody. The only limit is age. Most policies won't accept new people over age 85, but there are outliers.
These policies have lower benefits with higher premiums than traditional life insurance. They also have what the industry calls graded benefits. This type of benefit structure makes it doubly important to let your beneficiary know how your life insurance works.
Graded benefits pay differently depending on how long you’ve held the policy. You need to survive at least two years before your beneficiary would see a full payout. Graded benefits usually look something like the table below.
Years Owned | Benefits |
|---|---|
1st Year | 110% of Premiums Paid |
2nd Year | 110% of Premiums Paid |
3rd Year | 100% of Death Benefits |
This is a last resort style policy. Something to cover people who otherwise couldn’t get life insurance. Talk with your agent first to see if there aren’t other options before deciding on a guaranteed issue policy.
Conclusion
You can get life insurance at 68, even with most medical conditions. There are a few extra hurdles, and term lengths become more limited.
Make sure to shop around to get the best prices. The best way to save yourself time and effort is to have an independent agent shop the market for you or use the Instant Quotes tool on the left.
How Abrams Insurance Solutions Can Help
We are a group of independent life insurance agents who focus on finding the best policy for each unique situation at the lowest possible price. Whether it’s for estate planning or leaving something for your heirs, we have helped hundreds of families find the right policy.
Because we work for our clients, we don’t let the insurance companies shortchange anybody. If an offer comes back that’s unfair, we will reshop the market until we find another company who can do better. It's more work for us, but we’d rather save you money than push you into accepting an outrageous offer.
If you have any questions, give us a call at (888) 905-0333 today. There is never any obligation to buy.
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* This article was originally published here
