How To Find Life Insurance at 56 (Great Policy, Low Price)
Posted in Life Insurance in Your 50s last updated on November 14, 2020Life insurance is more expensive as you age. Yet finding affordable life insurance at any age (including 56) is not an overwhelming task. There are a few steps you can follow to make the process painless for both yourself and your wallet.
You can also see what difference companies charge by using the Instant Quotes tool on this page.
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Steps to Save Money on Life Insurance At 56
Here are a few tips for maximizing your savings. The best way is don’t wait. You can click over to the sample rates at age 57 or age 58 to see what your rates may look like if you put off the application.
Talk to an Independent Agent
Independent agents can sell life insurance products from many companies. Captive agents are bound by contract to only sell the products of the company they work for. Which means an independent agent can take a load off of your shoulders by doing your comparison shopping for you.
An independent agent will fit the policy to your family. A captive agent must fit you to one of their products.
Even if you decide to work with the captive agent in the end, talking to an independent agent will give you peace of mind. You won’t have to wonder if there is something better for you out there.
Know Exactly How Much You Need & For How Long
There is the old school method for determining how much life insurance you need and the new way.
The old method was just a general guideline that is sometimes still used today. Someone might say, “oh, you need X times your annual income in life insurance.” That figure ranges from 3 time to 20 times depending on who you ask.
This general guideline does not always reflect your family situation. No mortgage and no kids? You don’t need as much life insurance as someone who has both.
The new method for calculating how much life insurance you need is (you guessed it) a life insurance needs calculator. This takes into account your family’s situation. When you go in to a life insurance conversation armed with this information, you know you won’t end up over-insured.
Define Why You Are Getting Life Insurance
The reasons for buying life insurance can help you determine what type of policy is best for you. Each type of policy originated to serve a specific purpose. Decreasing term policies are often used to cover mortgages. Whole life to cover final expenses and leave something for loved ones.
Getting a clear picture of your reasons can help you save money in the long run too.
Term is Less Expensive Than Permanent, But Not Always Better
Term will cost you less per month. You also might outlive your policy. If you are only worried about providing for a child while he/she is a minor, a term policy might be a good option. If you need your life insurance policy to cover all your burial expenses, whole life might be better.
There are pros and cons to each side. Which is better largely depends on who you ask. If you ask us, the better policy is situational. For more comprehensive information on whether term or permanent life insurance is better, go here.
Take the Medical Exam to Save Money
Medical exams are not anyone’s idea of a good time. Luckily, they’re fairly short. At this point in your life, the underwriter might request you take an EKG. This adds around 20 minutes to the exam length. Which means you should be in and out in less than 45 minutes.
Companies who require medical exams can afford to offer better rates because of their screening process. It is more difficult to claim that you are 5’11” and 175lbs when you have to step on a scale in front of a medical examiner. They will immediately know that your home scale is several pounds off.
Insurance companies can better protect themselves from fraud with the medical exam. When an insurance company can protect itself from people unfairly taking advantage, they can offer lower rates to you.
Prepare as Far In Advance As Possible
If you know that you are going to be applying for insurance soon, it’s best to start preparing yourself early.
For example, if you smoke cigarettes and want to avoid smoker rates, you need to quit for at least a year before applying. It takes 12 months before a life insurance company will consider you a non-smoker.
If you are worried that a little extra weight might push your BMI too high and result in higher premiums, now is the time to start working out. Exercise. Calorie counting. Slow carb diets. Whatever you need to do in order to shed those extra few pounds will save you money in the long run.
Term Quotes for Men and Women
Term quotes are the easiest to show. Scroll down for rates for both men and women. Permanent quotes are more difficult to make blanket statements about because they involve a variety of factors.
If you want to see rate for yourself or a loved one, use the Instant Quotes Tool on the left. You are never obligated to buy.
Life Insurance at 56 Rate Chart – Men
The following rates for a man looking for life insurance at 56. This would be someone in generally good health who doesn’t smoke. The numbers you see here are for the monthly premiums.
| Preferred / Non-smoker | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Year Term | $23.98 | $50.75 | $97.69 | $170.01 |
| 20 Year Term | $44.96 | $87.35 | $165.11 | $315.79 |
| 30 Year Term | $85.74 | $176.30 | $339.70 | $652.74 |
Life Insurance at 56 Rate Chart – Women
These are sample monthly rates for a 56 year old woman who is mostly in good health and does not smoke.
| Preferred / Non-smoker | $100,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Year Term | $18.72 | $37.63 | $68.43 | $124.25 |
| 20 Year Term | $31.38 | $61.90 | $116.04 | $220.72 |
| 30 Year Term | $66.99 | $150.93 | $290.25 | $656.02 |
The Perks of Permanent Life Insurance
Term insurance is great to meet specific needs like covering a mortgage. It’s also cheaper. However, permanent insurance could be a better benefit depending on your situation.
After all, you are guaranteed to use your permanent life insurance at some point.
You could also consider building up a tax-free retirement income with permanent life insurance. This will depend on your goals, but it’s a great way to make sure that you don’t need to depend on banks for loans. You can pay off surprise medical bills or an unexpected roof repair. Many retired couple even use this provision to fund annual vacations.
No Exam Life Insurance
56 is where it starts to get difficult to find no exam life insurance. Yet there are still a few companies who will offer up to age 60. Try one of these for a high limit, no exam life insurance option.
No exam options can be tricky. Many companies will offer a guaranteed issue policy. This is exactly what it sounds like. They will issue a policy to virtually anyone, frequently without medical exams. The catch is you often have graded benefits and much higher premiums.
That being said, you can find no exam policies that are not guaranteed issue. Yet because the insurance company is not verifying that what you put on the application is true, they often charge more to hedge their bets.
How Abrams Insurance Solutions Can Help
At Abrams Insurance Solutions, we are independent agents who work for you, not the life insurance company. Our goal is to save our clients as much money as possible while protecting their family.
We specialize in helping folks with medical history get better rates. In order to do that we build relationships with the underwriters at the 70+ companies we work with. That way we can help find the company with the lowest rates for any particular health condition.
The Bottom Line
We are here to help. Let us to arm you with the information to make the best possible choice for you and your family. If that means not buying from us or postponing your life insurance, that’s fine. There is never any obligation to buy and all calls are 100% confidential.
So if you have any questions, please give us a call at 858-703-6178.
