59
Best Life Insurance For A Women Aged 59
By James Tobin, CFP®
Critical Takeaways
59
Expert Review Of Life Insurance For women Age 59
Reviewed by
Jim Tobin, CFP®
Why you can trust this review
At Bequest Mutual, we value our editorial independence. We keep our reviews strictly factual so you can use them to make informed decisions. Life insurance carriers referred to on this site do not approve reviews.
For women, life insurance at age 59 can have very different requirements depending on what's happening in their life at the moment. For some, it will be about protecting dependents while inching toward retirement, while for others , it will be about planning a legacy for children and grandchildren.
Whatever your situation, you will probably have some questions. This article is designed to answer the most common questions of a 59 year old woman looking for a life insurance policy.
We understand that your busy, and that reading about life insurance is probably not way you want to spend your free time. You can speed up the process by using the links below to jump around to the information that interest you.
Do you need life insurance? and Is Fifty nine a Good Age For A Woman To Get Life Insurance?
The first question you may have is "do I need life insurance?' It's a reasonable question. There is no question that agents, who need to sell policies to make a living, have been known to say "yes you do!' in every situation.
The truth is that you really only need life insurance if you have someone or something you'd like to protect from your early departure.
The people or things you'd like to protect can range from spouse and children and loved ones to a family home or church that relies on your financial contribution. For some , the rationale is not so much need as want. That is, they'd like to leave a financial legacy that would, for instance, pay for their grandkids college tuition.
So what it really comes down to is "do I need/want to provide protection to someone/something from my inability to contribute in the future?
Is Fifty Nine A Good Age For A Woman To Get Life Insurance?
If you answered the first part of this question "yes, I want to protect someone", then yes, 59 is a good age to obtain life insurance.The fact is that once you answer yes to the first question, age become less of an issue.
If you need life insurance, the you need life insurance. Pretty simple.
Nonetheless, to address the question in a vacuum, "yes, 59 can be a good age for a woman to get a life insurance policy". The primary reasons for this are that price increases tend to be significant at age 60, and a 10 or 15 year term is affordable for those still in good health. Being that these length terms will likely take you to retirement, fifty nine winds up looking pretty attractive.
What type of Life Insurance Policy is available to a 59 year old woman?
While the focus of this article is on term life insurance, there are generally 2 types of policies available with several variants of each.
- Term Insurance
- Permanent Insurance
Term
- 10 year term
- 15 year term
- 20 year term
- 30 year term
Permanent
Unlike term life insurance, where the coverage ends or becomes significantly more expensive at the end of the term, whole life stays in force with no price or coverage changes. All you need to do is make the payments.
Some whole life policies are designed to build cash reserves and others are designed to simply pay final expenses. The burial version of whole life is simplified issue- meaning there is no health exam and the policy decision is made the same day as the application is submitted.
Universal life is a more complex product with some flexibility. These are either designed to build cash savings or to provide a lower cost term style hybrid known as Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL).
The policies designed to build savings have flexible premiums and are more expensive. Guaranteed universal life policies are less expensive and lack a savings component or premium flexibility.
Additionally, it is worth noting that rider options vary for carrier to carrier.
How Does A Woman Age 59 Decide On The Amount and term Of Coverage Needed?
Although we are happy to do a complete fact finder with you and make recommendations as to the amount of coverage that would be ideal, we realize that you probably already have a good idea.
While there are many formulas out there to determine the perfect amount of coverage (we use the L.I.F.E. formula), the truth is your budget will dictate your comfort level.
How Much Does Life Insurance For a woman Aged 59 cost?
While overhead and profit are components of the cost of life insurance, the most significant inputs are:
- age
- amount of coverage
- length of term
- health rating
Different weights are applied to these components by different carriers. Despite these formulas being proprietary information, the rates show that these 4 inputs are paramount.
Note About Life Insurance for female Smoker, age 59
Tobacco use is a major component of health rating and it has a tremendous effect on pricing. Note, however, that if you are able to quit for 2 years , you will be eligible for standard rates. In fact, you can get a policy rated as a smoker and request a re-underwriting in 2 years. The savings between tobacco and non-tobacco is big money so if you have quit or plan on it, take advantage.
10 Year Term Life Insurance quotes For 59 Old woman
Amount | Preferred Plus | Preferred | Standard Plus | Standard | Preferred Tobacco | Standard Tobacco |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$100,000 | $22.24/mo. | 25.55 | 31.41 | 35.64 | 68.03 | 91.16 |
$250000 | 37.63 | 46.03 | 57.24 | 64.22 | 145.34 | 193.29 |
$500000 | 67.92 | 85.61 | 108.03 | 121.99 | 272.18 | 356.47 |
$750000 | 99.98 | 125.19 | 158.82 | 179.76 | 403.17 | 531.27 |
$1000000 | 126.54 | 158.67 | 200.34 | 233.16 | 510.43 | 672.52 |
15 Year Term Life Insurance quotes For 59 Old woman
Amount | Preferred Plus | Preferred | Standard Plus | Standard | Preferred Smoker | Standard Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$100,000 | $26.73 | 31.62 | 42.10 | 45.42 | 87.55 | 113.61 |
$250000 | 46.38 | 56.41 | 77.25 | 85.55 | 190.92 | 253.49 |
$500000 | 85.01 | 106.36 | 148.04 | 162.81 | 344.53 | 482.89 |
$750000 | 126.23 | 156.32 | 218.84 | 241.64 | 511.06 | 720.90 |
$1000000 | 161.99 | 206.28 | 276.23 | 316.63 | 680.47 | 912.46 |
20 Year term Life Insurance quotes For 59 Old woman
Amount | Preferred Plus | Preferred | Standard Plus | Standard | Preferred Smoker | Standard Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$100,000 | $33.20 | 37.90 | 52.33 | 58.59 | 112.83 | 142.98 |
$250000 | 68.36 | 77.60 | 103.57 | 111.16 | 251.33 | 320.33 |
$500000 | 122.97 | 142.86 | 199.58 | 225.33 | 477.73 | 605.87 |
$750000 | 182.11 | 211.95 | 294.89 | 333.30 | 730.40 | 927.02 |
$1000000 | 234.60 | 280.09 | 378.73 | 431.97 | 909.45 | 1156.90 |
25 Year term Life Insurance quotes For 59 Old woman
Amount | Preferred Plus | Preferred | Standard Plus | Standard | Preferred Smoker | Standard Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$100,000 | $58.80 | 67.46 | 85.93 | 93.85 | 240.20 | 216.57 |
$250000 | 117.67 | 135.90 | 174.09 | 210.56 | 395.39 | 519.01 |
$500000 | 225.57 | 262.70 | 321.48 | 389.14 | 743.47 | 977.39 |
$750000 | 335.81 | 389.02 | 476.68 | 577.58 | 1113.92 | 1464.80 |
$1000000 | 428.76 | 487.66 | 619.22 | 722.06 | 11442.22 | 1868.78 |
30 Year term Life Insurance quotes For 59 Old woman
Unfortunately, a 30 year term is not available with an A rated carrier for a 59 year old woman. Alternatives to a 30 year policy are to obtain a shorter policy term or a permanent option like guaranteed universal life. If you would like to explore permanent options give us a call at (203) 424-1100.
Are the rates on this site reliable For A 59 Year Old woman?
The rates that come from the quote tool are 100% correct. However, the tool requires correct information be imputed.
Garbage In > Garbage Out
This truism from computer programing, becomes important when you see that your health rating is required information. Most people are not accurate when guessing their health rating. They are either in better or worse shape than they think.
Only 11% of applicants wind up at preferred plus according to industry watchdogs. The safest bet is to choose "standard" and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Alternatively, a trained field underwriter can help you. Just fill out the custom quote or give us a holler.
What Are The Best Term Life Insurance Companies For A 59 Year Old Woman
You might be surprised to learn that while there are "top" companies , the company that is "best" for you, depends on your situation. That is the "best" company for you will be the company that treats your health best (if you have a condition), and the company that offers the policy preferences you desire.
With regard to existing conditions and health rating, it is important to know that different carriers have diverse appetites for specific types of risk. For example Prudential may be more willing to give a good offer to an applicant with gout than, say, Banner life would.
Policy Preferences
In addition to differing appetites for certain risks, carriers can be differentiated by policy preferences. For example, all carriers offer 25 year policies or child riders. The only practical way to find a carrier that hits all the notes for you is to use an experienced independent agent. See below.
How Does a woman Age 59 obtain the best rates with existing health conditions
USE AN INDEPENDENT AGENT
We apologize for the constant harping on the use of independent agent. We know it comes off as self serving. However, It also happens to be the truth.
The only way you can reliably expect to get the most competitive offer is by seeing what is available. This only happens when you work with an experience agent with access to 50+ carriers.
Case Study
A 59 year old woman taking anxiety medication came to the Bequest Mutual and had been offered a standard rate on a $250K 10 year policy from her the carrier of her expiring policy.
After shopping several carriers we were able to place her at Preferred with Prudential. The savings was $23/mo. or over $2700 over the life of the policy. That's not a bad use of a few minutes!
What is the life insurance application process for a fifty nine year old Woman
The 8 step process linked here is the same for everyone with a couple of exceptions listed below.
- Choose policy Type
- Choose terms
- Get pricing
- submit application
- Take exam
- await underwriting
- review offer
- policy delivery
The exceptions are that if you decide on a no exam option there will be no exam (shocker!).
Also the underwriting time will likely be considerably quicker.
Also, you may be required to take an EKG as part of the exam if you are applying for more than 2MM or have a history of heart trouble.
What is different about the Bequest Mutual?
The Bequest Mutual is an experienced independent agency with access to over 50+ carriers to suit every niche.
This alone sets us apart from "captive" agents who can only sell for one company and have a financial incentive to "shoehorn" you into their product lineup whether it's a good fit or not. This same critique goes for the "consumer direct" marketing from the carriers. The result is no competition and no savings.
That's right. No savings!
The rates are the same whether you get the policy with or without an agent. So, why give up the use of an experienced agent for no gain?
Aside from the captives are big brokers that advertise constantly (you know who I mean!). This is a better option than the directs or captives but only somewhat better. The reason we come to this conclusion is that while independent, the big brokers limit the number of carriers to maximize commission levels. The end result is not always being able to fit a specific niche.
Additionally, the big brokers will not help with service work. Rather, they will transfer you to the 800 number of the carrier (but you do get bad muzak while you wait!). Lastly, the crazy turnover rate of employees makes it difficult to speak with an experienced representative.
The Bequest Mutual solves all these issues and does so with a lead agent who is an experienced Certified Financial Planner. We believe in transparency and are happy to share a screen with you if you'd like.
Because we do this as a career, you can count on us being here when you need us.
Next Step
Hopefully, this article has been answered the questions you may have about obtaining life insurance at age fifty nine. If you have any further questions just reach out. After requesting a quote, we will be in touch asap with an email questionnaire that speeds underwriting and a follow up call to answer any lingering questions and take the application.
Thank you for using the Bequest Mutual to shop for life insurance for a female age 59.
