While one could argue that it’s better to purchase a life insurance policy in your 20s and 30s (because the insurance may be cheaper at that age), we’ve found that the majority of the time, these younger applicants fail to have a proper understanding of what their life insurance needs are, and ultimately end up buying more insurance in their 40s anyways.
This is because when you’re in your 20s and 30s, you’re probably just getting started, thinking about starting a family and possibly considering buying your first home. This is all very exciting, but it’s also all very new, meaning that most will not have the experience yet to understand just how expensive all of these new things are!
Conversely, by the time you hit your 40s, the reality of just how expensive the world can be, combined with the fact that you’re now getting a taste of what it’s like to be getting older, puts you in an ideal situation to appreciate how important life insurance can be and much better prepared to understand just how much you will need.
Or, at the very least, you now have a greater interest in the topic and probably have a few specific questions you’d like to have answered.
Questions such as:
- How Much Is Life Insurance for Ages 40-49?
- How much life insurance should I purchase in my 40s?
- What “kind” of life insurance should someone in their 40s apply for?
- Can I apply for a no-medical exam life insurance policy?
- How can I improve my chances of qualifying for the best possible life insurance policy?
So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!
How Much Is Life Insurance for Ages 40-49?
Life insurance rates for people ages 40-49 will depend on various factors, including the insurance company, the type of policy, and the individual’s specific circumstances.
Some of the factors that can affect life insurance rates for people in this age range include:
- Health: Life insurance rates are typically lower for people in good health, as they pose a lower risk to the insurance company. If you have any pre-existing health conditions, such as epilepsy, your rates may be higher.
- Lifestyle: Your lifestyle and daily habits may also affect life insurance rates. For example, your rates may be higher if you smoke or engage in risky activities.
- Occupation: Your occupation can also impact your life insurance rates, as some professions are considered riskier than others.
- Coverage amount: The coverage you seek will also affect your life insurance rates. Generally, the more coverage you need, the higher your rates will be.
The good news about getting life insurance in your 40s is that it is affordable.
We should also point out that the cutoff for locking into a 40-year term life insurance policy is age 45, which means that you would likely need to begin the application process before you are 44 ½ years of age because many life insurance companies will “round up” when determining what one’s insurance age is.
How much life insurance should I purchase in my 40s?
One of the nice things about helping someone in their 40s buy a life insurance policy is that we don’t have to spend a whole lot of time discussing just how EXPENSIVE life can be.
After all, by age 40, most folks fully understand just how much money it takes nowadays to survive. Hence, purchasing a relatively large life insurance policy (100,000 plus) isn’t too much of a stretch for most individuals.
But just because…
Some may realize that they need more than $100,000, but it’s still tough to determine their actual life insurance needs. For this reason, we recommend that folks start by using the “rule of 7,” whereby they take their current salary and multiply that by 7.
For example:
If you earn $50,000 per year, a good starting point for you might be $350,000 in life insurance coverage.
From there, though…
You’ll first want to look at how much that coverage will cost you and then balance this price against the fact that $350,000 in life insurance coverage will only replace your lost income for the next seven years.
It’s not going to be enough to cover additional things such as:
- A mortgage,
- College funds,
- Retirement plans,
- Etc…
To cover things like this, you’re going to need a lot more than just $350,000 in coverage, but at least it should provide you with a good “floor” upon which you can decide if and how much more insurance you would like to leave behind for your loved ones.
You can use our life insurance calculator to understand better how much life insurance you may need based on your specific circumstances.
LIFE INSURANCE CALCULATOR
Adjust the sliders to fit your criteria. View your results below.
RESULTS
Your total cost for years of retirement at per year is:
Assuming you retire at age , you have investing years left. Using a annual rate of return for your investments, you're expected to earn a total of .
What type of life insurance should someone in their 40s apply for?
Now that you have a pretty good idea about how much life insurance you need, the next question is deciding which of the different types of life insurance policies you want. Do you want to take a medical exam when applying, or would you rather avoid one if possible?
To answer this question…
The first thing that you’re going to want to ask yourself is…
“How long do you want to remain insured?”
This is because when it comes time to choose what “kind” of life insurance a person can buy, you will generally have two basic options. The first option will be a Term Life insurance Policy, and the second will be a Whole Life Insurance policy. Now, there are many differences between these two “types” of life insurance policies, many of which go beyond the scope of this article (Term vs. Whole Life).
The two that seem to be the most important to people first investigating different “kinds” of life insurance will generally be that one will last your WHOLE LIFE, while the other is set to expire at the end of a TERM.
As for price…
What you’re generally going to find is that because a whole life insurance policy is designed to last one’s WHOLE LIFE, basically ensuring them that their family will benefit from their life insurance policy, most insurance carriers are going to charge 7 to 10 times more for this particular type of insurance.
Which is just one…
There are three reasons why most financial advisors recommend Term Life Insurance to their clients over Whole Life Insurance. The other two reasons why most financial advisors will recommend Term vs. Whole Life is because most people won’t need to have a huge life insurance policy as they get older.
So, the idea of paying for a significant, expensive life insurance policy well into your 70s, 80s, and hopefully 90s doesn’t make a lot of sense if all you purchased it for was to take care of people who were financially dependent upon you at a much younger age then they will be 30 or 40 years from now!
Imagine what you could do with all that extra money you spent on a whole life insurance policy that could have been paid or invested elsewhere. This is the third reason most financial advisors recommend Term vs. Whole Life.
The only problem is…
UNIVERSALLY recommending one type of life insurance vs. a different kind of life insurance inevitably forces an advisor to make ASSUMPTIONS about your situation and your GOALS.
You see, some people out there may need to purchase a life insurance policy where their “insurance needs” won’t diminish over time. People like those purchasing a life insurance policy to protect a special needs child or to finance a buy-sell agreement between two business partners.
Or those…
Who wants to “achieve” more than just obtaining a death benefit for their family by purchasing a life insurance policy for themselves?
Situations where someone may be looking to take advantage of certain tax advantages or “infinite banking” strategies that can only be accomplished through a whole life insurance policy instead of a term policy.
This is why…
Even though over 90% of all our clients here at IBUSA ultimately buy a Term Life Insurance Policy, there will be those who see the value of a whole life insurance policy. After all, there must be some reason why people choose to do so, and it’s not because they want to pay more for the same coverage.
Can I apply for a no-medical exam life insurance policy?
OK, so now that you’ve figured out HOW much life insurance you need, and you’re pretty sure what TYPE of life insurance you want to apply for, it’s time to decide whether or not you wish to use a life insurance policy that WILL REQUIRE you to take a medical exam vs. no exam.
While avoiding a medical exam may seem like the obvious choice, there are three things one should be aware of before applying for a no medical exam life insurance in your 40s.
#1. Lower policy limits.
No-medical-exam life insurance policies tend to offer lower policy limits. That said, a couple of them will provide up to 1 million dollars in coverage, which isn’t all that low.
However, if you are looking for more coverage, you will likely need to apply for a traditional life insurance policy requiring one to take a medical exam.
#2. They can be more challenging to qualify for.
Most no-medical-exam life insurance companies tend to be more difficult to qualify because insurance companies offering these types of life insurance policies only want to provide them to those eligible for a Standard or better rate.
Now, there are a few exceptions with pre-existing medical conditions like diabetes, anxiety, or depression; however, when it comes to other medical conditions like:
- heart disease,
- cancer,
- Or stroke.
Most life insurance companies that offer these “types” of life insurance policies will deny anyone applying for them and require the applicant to take a medical exam if they wish to be approved for coverage.
#3. The double-edged sword when it comes to what you can qualify for.
The last “issue” you may encounter when it comes to applying for a no medical exam life insurance policy is that most of these “types” of life insurance policies won’t offer a Preferred Plus rate, which means that you may be able to qualify for a better health rating if you allowed an insurance company to perform a medical exam.
Which many not…
It seems like a big deal; however, we refer to this dilemma as a “double-edged sword” because many 40-year-olds out there think they are in excellent physical condition simply because they haven’t had a physical in a while. This means that when they decide to…
“Go for the Preferred Plus Rate”
Cause they’re in great shape, ultimately, what happens is that we learn that they’re not. Instead, we discover that they have:
- High blood pressure,
- High cholesterol,
- High blood sugar levels,
- Etc…
This may not be the end of the world, but it will be the end of their chances of qualifying for a Preferred Plus rate in most situations and may even be the end of their chances of qualifying for a Preferred rate altogether.
That’s why we always advise clients diagnosed with “serious” pre-existing medical conditions to apply for a no-medical-exam life insurance policy unless they are sure what kind of results they will get from a medical exam.
How can I improve my chances of qualifying for the best possible life insurance policy?
As you can see from this article, there are a lot of things that one should be aware of when choosing to apply for a life insurance policy when they are over the age of 40, which is why it only makes sense that there probably isn’t one life insurance company or policy that’s going to be the “best” for everyone.
For this reason…
Logic should dictate that you should shop around a bit when it comes time to find the best life insurance policy.
This is why we here at IBUSA have chosen to remain an independent life insurance brokerage that can work with dozens of different life insurance companies so that when it comes time to help you find the best life insurance policy that you can qualify for, we don’t have to rely on a.
“One size fits all”!
Instead, we can simultaneously shop multiple life insurance companies and offer several options. So, what are you waiting for? Call us today, and let us show you what we can do for you!
