Over 60s life insurance

Compare life insurance that you can take out when you're aged 60+[1]

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What is over 60s life insurance?

You can still get life insurance when you’re over 60, but your age might limit you to a particular type called over 50s life insurance plans.

We can only help you compare quotes for ordinary life insurance if you’re under 65, but if you’re aged 50-85 you can take out an over 50s life plan instead.

You won’t need to have a medical check for over 50s life insurance and they pay out a fixed lump sum on your death.

You need to make monthly payments. If you stop making payments, you’ll get nothing back. Some policies will ask that you only make payments for a certain amount of time, say until you’re aged 80.

It’s possible to pay more than the final lump-sum value paid out. 

For example, say you take out an over 50s life insurance policy in your 60s with a pay out of £1,000, and you pay your insurer £10 per month. Divide £1,000 by £10, which equals 100 months – or eight years and three months.

So, if you took the policy out when you were 61 and you live until 70 or beyond, you’ll have paid more into the policy than you get out.

The other thing to check is the ‘waiting period’, which is how long you need to hold the policy for before it pays out.

It’s typically 12-24 months, and if you do pass away in that time your beneficiaries won’t receive the lump sum – although your premiums will be refunded.

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Why should I get over 60s life insurance?

You might be considering taking out a life insurance policy if:

  • You want outstanding debts to be covered after your death
  • You’d like your loved ones to have money to pay funeral costs
  • You want to leave a lump sum to someone as an inheritance

How much is life insurance for a 60 year old?

The cost of your life insurance plan doesn’t only depend on your age. It’s also affected by the amount of cover you need, the length of time the policy lasts and whether you're a smoker.

You won't need to have a medical check or give any details about your medical history to take out an over 50s life insurance plan, which can make it a much more affordable option when you're in your 60s.

The average cost of an over 50s life insurance plan for someone in their 60s with £4,000-£5,000 whole-of-life cover is £21.42 a month.[2]

How does age affect the cost of life insurance?

The cost of life insurance increases with age. This is because the older you get, the less time you’ll be paying in to the policy and the more likely you are to have health conditions.

For someone in their 60s, an ordinary level-term life insurance policy with a term of up to 10 years would cost an average of £77.88 a month, according to our research – for someone in their 30s the term could be longer – 20-29 years and would cost an average £8.70 a month.[3] This just shows how ordinary life insurance can be prohibitively expensive for the over 60s.

We can only help you compare quotes for ordinary life insurance if you’re under 65. But you can compare over 50s life insurance if you’re 65+.

All policies will have an age limit, but this varies between insurers. So some will only issue policies to those under 75 years old, but others will have an age limit of 80.

What’s the difference between standard life insurance and an over 50s plan?

Ordinary level-term life insurance lasts a set length of time. So you’d pay premiums for 30 years, for example, and then your cover would end. The insurer will only pay out if you die during the cover term.

You can also get ‘whole of life’ cover which doesn’t have a term, so it pays out no matter how long you live, but it’s more expensive.

It’s likely to be very expensive in your 60s, especially if you’ve had any health problems.

For many sexagenarians, an over 50s life insurance policy is a more affordable alternative.

They’re whole of life plans, so you’re expected to pay premiums for the rest of your life (or up to a certain age, if the policy has a maximum payment age) and there will be a guaranteed pay out when you die. 

What other types of life insurance are there?

Although over 50s life insurance will have more affordable monthly premiums for those in their 60s, you can get regular term life insurance up to the age of 65.

Term policies last for a certain amount of time and only pay out if you die during the policy term. There are three types:

Decreasing

The payout amount reduces during the policy term, usually in line with any debts you have. Because of this, it’s sometimes called mortgage life insurance.

More on decreasing term life insurance

Level

This policy type has a fixed payout amount, no matter when a claim is made during the policy term.

More on level term life insurance

Increasing

The pay out amount increases each year in line with inflation.

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Do I need to have a medical to qualify for over 60s life insurance?

It’s likely you will if you want ordinary life insurance, but you won’t need a medical for an over 50s life insurance plan.

If you choose the latter for your over 60s life insurance you also won’t have health and lifestyle questions to answer, although you will need to declare whether you’re a smoker or not.

Frequently asked questions

You could, but if you’ve taken out an over 50s life insurance plan it’s unlikely the pay out amount would be enough to fully cover the inheritance tax.

It’s worth calculating the value of your estate to help work out how much cover you need, and whether ordinary life insurance would be more suitable if that’s an option for you.

You’ll need to have the policy written in trust for it to pay inheritance tax before your estate’s settled.

Yes, provided your cause of death is covered by your policy and you die during the cover term.

Yes, although it could be cheaper to only have one policy that gives you the specific cover you need. 

An over 50s policy won’t ask you any health related questions and cover’s guaranteed.

You can still get cover with normal life insurance too if you have pre-existing conditions, but you might find your choice of insurers more limited, or that your premiums will cost more.

Make sure you compare quotes to increase your chances of finding the exact cover you want. 

More life insurance topics

More life insurance topics

[1]For comparing quotes online, Go.Compare introduces customers to Reassured which is a trading name of Reassured Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority no. 616144. Go.Compare's relationship with Reassured Ltd is limited to that of a business partnership, no common ownership or control exist between us.

[2]Data based on over 50s life insurance plans purchased from Nielson through GoCompare by people in their 60s between 25 August 2020 and 23 February 2021.

[3]Data based on level term life insurance policies purchased from Nielson through GoCompare between 25 August 2020 and 2 December 2020. Based on single-policy, non-smoker.