If you are a baby boomer and facing the fact that you currently don’t have life insurance, have term insurance that will be expiring or just feel you don’t have adequate insurance what are you to do? Obtaining life insurance as you get older can be more a bit more complicated than when you were young, and more costly, but for most is a necessity. No matter what your situation, now may be the time to consider getting permanent whole life coverage.
Permanent Life Insurance Basics
Permanent or whole life insurance is life insurance that stays with you until your death. While, it may be more expensive initially, once you have your policy in place, you are set for life. Once you set up your policy, as long as you continue to make payments, your policy can not be closed. As baby boomers continue to age, they could develop an array of health problems that could make them uninsurable, another reason to choose permanent over term as you get older.
Benefits of Permanent Life Insurance for Baby Boomers
There are numerous benefits for baby boomers to purchase a permanent life policy. To begin with, most permanent policies can be written as late as 85 years old and stay in place until death. For some smaller permanent life policies you may not even have to take a medical exam. No matter what your age or your particular situation, you should be able to find a plan that will fit your needs.
Additionally, permanent life insurance builds equity as you continue to make premium payments. Depending on how long you have your policy, eventually you may choose to cash in on it.
Why Baby Boomers Need Permanent Life Insurance
There are numerous reasons why baby boomers should have a life insurance policy in place. These include:
- To cover the cost of funeral expenses.
- To help fill in the gaps and provide an income for your spouse and/or any other dependents at your death.
- To leave money for your children or grandchildren to cover such expenses as college tuition.
- To help build cash value that you can draw from when you are older.
When You Already Have Permanent Insurance, What Should You Do?
If you are a baby boomer and have previously purchased a permanent whole life insurance policy, there is a good chance that your policy has a significant amount of cash value that has built up over the years. One of the benefits of having purchased such a policy when you were younger is that the money you invest into the policy grows over time. The growth is tax deferred and at times even tax free.
Now, you can use your plans equity to help you at a time when you might not have extra funds. You can use it to continue to pay your policy’s premiums. Additionally you can borrow against your premium and take out the cash to help with bills, to take a vacation and more. Make sure you follow all the policies terms and conditions when borrowing off the cash value.