Benefits of Life Insurance for Seniors

Larry Anders serves as chairman and CEO of Summit Alliance Companies, leading it to become Transamerica Occidental Life’s Leading Agency and national sales leader. At the Dallas, Texas-based company, Larry Anders provides consulting and case management assistance on life insurance products.

Conversations about the value of life insurance are usually limited to working-age Americans. Seniors are often left out of the conversation because it is believed that, for them, the cost of life insurance is not proportional to the benefits it provides. This is not true. Life insurance can give seniors invaluable benefits besides the financial payout their loved ones will receive when they die.

For example, life insurance can help insured people cover end-of-life expenses. These include funeral and burial expenses which can go up to $20,000. Then, there’s the issue of debts and taxes. Seniors who want to leave some property for their loved ones may have the value of their estate lowered by debt repayments and taxes. With life insurance, however, they can contribute monthly fees to an insurer covering these expenses on their estate, ensuring they leave more property to their loved ones.

In addition, some whole life insurance policies provide cash to insured persons during their lifetime. Seniors can tap into these funds to pay their debt or meet household expenses. However, it may take time for seniors to build enough reserves through their monthly payments that they can then access later on.