Life Insurance For 88 Year Old: Get The Facts!

Are you 88 years old and interested in buying life insurance? Or perhaps you are looking for life insurance coverage for someone else like a 88 year old parent?

You‘ve come to the right place!

This article covers all the questions you should ask when looking to buy life insurance to cover things like final expenses, debt, or income replacement.

Quick Navigation Article Links

• Exam?
• Bad Health
• Options
• Term Vs Whole
• Rates
• Reasons Why
• For Mom/Dad
• Best Companies
• Other Options
• Next Steps

Do I have to have a medical exam?

Getting an exam when you’re 88 years old and apply for life insurance is optional. In fact, almost none of our senior clients take exams. Instead, they opt for something called “simplified issue coverage.” 

So how does it work? 

Our simplified issue carriers make it quick and easy to get a life policy.

When you apply for one of our life or burial insurance policies, the insurance company checks your past medical and prescription history to decide whether you’re approved.

There is no need to undergo a medical exam.

What’s more, unlike most life insurance programs requiring weeks of underwriting analysis, with our life insurance options for 88 year olds, you’ll get an approval in a matter of seconds.

I’m not in the greatest shape. Can I still qualify for a life insurance policy?

The answer is yes. 

There are life insurance policies for 88 year old men and women with a history of poor health. We have carriers with first day coverage for people with a history of the following issues:

•  Cancer
•  Heart issues like heart attacks, strokes, etc.
•  Mental health disorders
•  Lung disease like COPD
•  Diabetes, even if you use insulin or have diabetic complications
•  Neurological disorders like Parkinson’s or lupus
•  etc.

But if you have a significantly advanced pre-existing health condition, you can no longer qualify for what’s called no questions asked whole life insurance. 

What are my coverage options at the age of 88?

Most 88 years old seniors looking for life insurance choose from one of the following policy options:

• Term life insurance. Term life insurance for seniors provides the most payout for the least amount of money. However, most seniors don’t get term insurance because it’s difficult to qualify for, and it may cancel before you die. In other words, if you buy term insurance, you may lose your coverage when you most need it. If you choose this type of insurance, this is a risk you need to take into consideration.
• Universal life insurance. Just like term life insurance, guaranteed universal life insurance for seniors may cancel prior to death if set up incorrectly. But if set up right, universal life is permanent life insurance coverage that you can’t outlive. This may be an excellent option for healthier seniors looking for coverage that won’t cancel.
• Whole life insurance. We recommend whole life insurance to most of our senior clients. Whole life insurance never cancels due to age or health, rates never increase, and you qualify for first day full coverage. What’s more, our whole life insurance options offer “simplified issue” underwriting. This means that you don’t need a medical exam to qualify.

I hear a lot of people talk about term life insurance. Should I get that?

While many people think that term insurance is the best form of life insurance, this is not always the case. 

Here’s why.

• It’s difficult to qualify for. Most term insurance policies don’t get approved or get rated up so high that the insured refuses to pay the higher premium. Almost all seniors above the age of 88 years applying for term insurance get denied due to their age or health issue or they refuse coverage due to sky-high rates.
• Term terminates. Most 88 year old men and women looking for life insurance believe final expense coverage is important. But, as we explained above, you may end up paying a huge sum of money in premiums and end up outliving coverage.

If term insurance is no good, what is the best option?

What most 88 year olds want is life insurance they cannot outlive, and whole life insurance is the answer. You can’t outlive your coverage as long as you pay your premiums and the rates never increase.

What if I still want term insurance?

If you’re set on buying term insurance, we can of course help you. In some cases, term life insurance still makes sense for a 88 year old. We have access to carriers that are easier on underwriting and can help you get quality term life insurance.

I am on a fixed income. What kind of rates are we looking at?

The good news is that we can adjust the price to fit your budget. Many of our clients are low-income seniors on a very tight budget. Our end goal is to help you find a policy regardless of your financial situation.

What are some reasons why a person aged 88 like me should get life insurance?

There are many good reasons why seniors should consider carrying life insurance. Here are some of the most common ones:

• Final expenses. Many seniors retire with little savings and inadequate life insurance to pay burial or cremation costs. Needing life insurance to cover funeral expenses is the most common reason why 88 year old men and women purchase life insurance.
• Income replacement. Some people buy life insurance at the age of 88 to replace the income of their spouse who was the primary earner.
• Leaving a legacy of love. Some seniors buy life insurance to leave money behind to their kids or grandkids. 
• Paying off debt. Many 88 year olds buy life insurance in order to pay off additional debt left behind after their death, like mortgage or credit cards debts for example.

I’m looking for coverage on my elderly parents. Can I get coverage on them?

The short answer is yes. 

We help lots of adult children get burial insurance or life insurance coverage on their parents and we know exactly what steps to take to help you out!

However, you should keep in mind that you can buy life insurance on your parents as long as they sign off on the policy.

You can’t authorize a life insurance policy on a 88 year old parent without their consent. The only exception is if you have power of attorney. 

If your parent agrees to taking out the life or burial insurance coverage, you can set up payments from your account to pay the policy premium.

What insurance carriers are best for coverage on seniors age 88?

There is no single company that best fits every 88 years old looking for life insurance or burial insurance because every person’s health is unique and health factors are rated differently by insurance companies. 

At Buy Life Insurance, we work with the nation’s highest-rated life insurance carriers. That’s why we can help you find the best coverage option given your health condition and financial situation. 

I get mail from AARP, Colonial Penn, and see all sorts of television commercials about burial insurance. Why not buy from them?

For years, AARP and Colonial Penn have been advertising final expense burial insurance on television, talking about the benefits of their policies and how they help seniors pay for final expenses.

However, there are some issues that you need to be aware of when it comes to their plans.

AARP life insurance is almost exclusively term life insurance as is sold in their television commercials and letters they send you. As we’ve described above, term life insurance cancels. And AARP’s policy cancels at the age of 80, which means that you can’t get coverage from them. 

Colonial Penn life insurance is the company endorsed by Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy. 

If you read the fine print, you’ll find that their “guaranteed acceptance” product does not cover for full natural death for the first two years. It’s very likely that you may qualify for something better with another product.

While both AARP and Colonial Penn do provide coverage for the people who need it, at Buy Life Insurance For Burial we believe that we can get you a better quality policy that will start immediately without the need to wait or possibly outlive the coverage.

How can I get a free life insurance quote from you?

Ready to learn more about life insurance for 88 year old seniors? Here’s what you need to do next:

• Call us. You can speak to one of our friendly representatives by calling 888-626-0439. If we’re tied up and cannot answer the phone, simply leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back. It only takes 5-10 minutes to get a quick quote for what life insurance would cost for a 88 year old.
• Request an online quote. If you’re on a smartphone, click the button at the top to request a free quote. If you’re on your desktop computer, fill out the information to your right then click submit. You’ll get to see some price options, and we’ll follow up with you later to see what you think.