It is common knowledge that certain factors may exempt a person from buying life insurance from certain providers or result in higher premiums. One worth considering: Is there an age past which an insurance provider will not cover a person with a life insurance policy? The
answer: It varies. Here's what you need to know:
- Few providers will cover a person past 85 years old. Some insurance providers may cover a person beyond this age while many have a much lower cutoff.
- Some insurers may have a cutoff as low as 75 years old, while the average is around 80 years old.
- There are no laws disallowing an insurance provider from covering someone beyond a certain age, but most consider it to no longer be worth the investment past a certain age.
- While an insurer will not typically take a new policy on for someone over a certain age, they will not necessarily end your policy at this age. However, this may have its own cutoff age, typically around ninety-five years old, after which your insurer will not renew the policy after the current term ends.
The most obvious reason an insurance provider may have a cutoff-age for life insurance has to do with life expectancy, but another reason may simply be that there is not much demand for life insurance past a certain age. Life insurance is typically purchased to protect a person's family in the event of their passing. For someone who is 85 years old, it is unlikely that they still have a number of dependents to take care of. At this point in a person's life, their children may themselves be grandparents, and no longer dependent on their parents for any monetary support.
Of course, there are always exceptions, and it's not impossible for someone in their late-nineties to buy life insurance, but there may not be many providers looking to cover someone at that age.
Also Read: How to Pick a Beneficiary for Life Insurance