Can my 86 year old mother have life insurance?

by pettewayg » Sun Jun 07, 2009 04:12 pm

I need to get a policy for my 86 year old mother for reasonable premium.

Total Comments: 144

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 08:51 am Post Subject:

Okay, reasonable is a very relative word, what is reasonable to someone might not sound right to another. I hope you understand that your mom is too old for life coverage. And, at her age the premium rate would be outrageous anyway.

Why exactly do you want a policy for her at this age?

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 10:51 am Post Subject:

You should be able to purchase (if you're interested) a 'final arrangements' policy...I doubt any carrier will take on an 86 year old..

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:47 pm Post Subject:

Hi pettewayg,

I need to get a policy for my 86 year old mother for reasonable premium.


Why didn't you try for it earlier? Any particular reason?

Steven

Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 02:12 pm Post Subject:

There are a few carriers that will insure an 86-year-old, but it will be highly dependent on her health. The premiums are not cheap (ex: $2400 per year for a $25,000 policy for an 86-year-old woman at a standard rate), but it may still be an option. If you want to contact me to discuss the options in further detail, please feel free to send me a PM or an e-mail.

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 02:21 am Post Subject:

86 is absolutely NOT to old for life insurance. Your premiums will depend on health (preferred, standard, table rating...etc) and desired death benefit. The upper age limit on life insurance is 91.

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 04:12 am Post Subject:

Okay Experts, what life insurance options can a 86 years old person have? Would she get a 20 years term plan at reasonable price?

IMO irrespective of her health the premium rate would be exorbitant and beyond one's affordability. And, if that is so then we are not talking about medically underwritten life policies, right?

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 05:13 am Post Subject:

"Okay Experts, what life insurance options can a 86 years old person have? Would she get a 20 years term plan at reasonable price?"

No. you can not buy a 20 year term policy on an 86 y/o. The only term insurance you could buy would be an annually renewable term policy who's premiums would not be cost effective.



"IMO irrespective of her health the premium rate would be exorbitant and beyond one's affordability. And, if that is so then we are not talking about medically underwritten life policies, right?"

Also not correct. There are no guaranteed issue policies available for an 86 y/o.

An 86 y/o standard non-tobacco female can buy a $1,000,000 policy for $88,000 a year (or $9,788 per year for $100,000). An 86 y/o female has a life expectancy of approximately 6 years. So to put this into perspective it is as though she was buying a dollar for 50cents. or you could say she was making 16% tax free simple interest a year on her money. Not bad compared to the stock market.

Let me give you a real life scenario: a 86 y/o female has $500k in CDs at the bank. She pulls out $200k and put it into an single premium immediate annuity. This annuity generates $29k a year for the rest of her life. we back out the taxes and we spend the remainder...about $25k a year to buy a guaranteed life insurance policy with a death benefit of $282k income tax free.

This type of situation (older aged individual wanting to buy life insurance) come up a lot in estate planning also.

Hope this helps.

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 11:35 am Post Subject:

An 86 year old female who can get standard rates on life insurance has a life expectancy of greater than 6 years.

You are not putting up a very compelling life insurance argument with your example. If she could invest her money and earn 5%, as long as she lives 8 years, her family comes out behind with the life insurance.

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:28 pm Post Subject:

Hi Marpol,

about $25k a year to buy a guaranteed life insurance policy with a death benefit of $282k income tax free.


Did you come across such an example in real life?
Or is it you're just trying to explain a possibility of earning benefits?

Steven

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 03:03 pm Post Subject:

Steven,

I think that he's being overly optimistic in his post. If the taxes are only $4,000, that puts the person in a combined federal, state, and local tax bracket of 13%. Additionally, if the death benefit is $282,000, the person is probably getting super preferred rates. Not too many 86 year olds can get this rate.

Regardless, assuming that the numbers are accurate, and I have no reason to believe that they aren't in his example, it still doesn't make much sense.

The odds favor her being able to leave more money behind by investing the money instead.

As an aside, if she is in a higher tax bracket, a single premium life insurance policy will make more sense than using an annuity to fund annual premiums.

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