One of the most popular life insurance plans currently advertised in the press and on tv are what are called Over 50's Life Plans or you might sometimes hear them called funeral plans and advertised with the aim of covering the funeral costs on death.
These policies often offer a free welcome gift like shopping vouchers as a way of encouraging the potential new customer to apply and normally they have no requirement for any medicals or medical questionnaires and if you die after one or 2 years depending on the insurer you will get paid on your death the amount your policy is for.
But there is a cost for this, as using the figures for one of the UK's leading life insurers a 55 year old non smoker taking out an over 50's life insurance policy paying 6 per month would receive life cover of 1131 life cover. This is where it gets interesting as the same company offers a non over 50's life plan and the same 55 year old non smoker taking out a life plan over 30 years and paying the same 6 per month would receive 6436 life cover or almost 570% more cover for the same monthly payment!
So if you are in good health it is possible for the same monthly payment your loved ones could receive an extra 5,005 on your death.
Before jumping to the conclusion that they are not good value for money though a few of things need to be considered.
The over 50's plan does not require a medical and if you are not in good physical health it is possible you might fail the medical so the over 50's version might be the only option available to you, and regardless of the state of your health your loved ones will get the money if you outlive the qualifying period.
The over 50's version continues until the age of 90 and then cover continues for free (If you are lucky enough to live that long it means you have paid out 2,520 premiums but will only receive back 1131)
The under 50's version stops at 85 so if you die after this date the premiums you have paid will be lost as you will no longer have cover.
So if you are looking for life insurance shop around and consider your options carefully as just because a plan is advertised very heavily on television and in the press does not mean that it is offering good value. The point of all life cover is to provide cash for your loved ones or dependents on your death and the more cover you can get for the same monthly premium the better.