If you’re over 50 and looking for the best life insurance, you’ll want to make an informed decision when choosing a life insurance policy. Your age will play a major role in the cost of insurance and options available, but so will your health and financial goals.
To find the best life insurance for people over 50, we evaluated companies based on their term and cash value policy features and rates.
Best Life Insurance Companies for People Over 50
- Lincoln Financial: Great For Estate Planning
- Pacific Life: Best For Variable Universal Life Insurance
- Protective: Best For Universal Life Insurance
- Penn Mutual: Best For Seniors Age 75+
- Corebridge Financial: Best For Choices Of Term Length
- Principal: Great For High Issue Age For Term Life
- Symetra: Great For Low Term Life Insurance Quotes Over Age 50
Lincoln Financial
Term life insurance buyers over 50 will enjoy Lincoln Financial’s low rates. For those looking for cash value life insurance, Lincoln Financial’s policies are generally cost-competitive and have reliable policy illustrations.
For couples buying life insurance for estate planning, Lincoln Financial is worth consideration for its survivorship policies. These policies insure two lives under one policy and pay out when both people have passed away. Beneficiaries typically use the payout for estate taxes or other financial obligations.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Cost-competitive term and cash value life insurance for buyers over age 50.
- Cash value life insurance buyers will appreciate the reliable policy illustrations, so you won’t be surprised by cash value in the future.
Cons
The investment performance for some of its cash value products has been unremarkable, so you may not get the kind of robust cash value growth you could find with other companies.
Pacific Life
For cash value life insurance buyers over 50, Pacific Life offers a valuable combination of competitive pricing and reliable illustrations for most of its policies. This helps maximize your cash value accumulation. The company has had good performance of its investments that underlie customers’ cash value growth.
Many of Pacific Life’s policies will build cash value even in the early years, compared to other companies, where it can take decades to get traction.
Term life insurance buyers over 50 should consider Pacific Life for its low rates.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Competitive life insurance costs for buyers over age 50.
- Pacific Life’s variable universal life insurance earned top marks in our analysis.
- Its cash value policies for smokers are also very cost-competitive.
- Policy illustrations from Pacific Life tend to be reliable, so you’ll have a good prediction of cash value gains over time.
- Wide variety of life insurance riders available
Cons
If you want to convert a Pacific Life term life policy, the only choice is a universal life insurance policy.
Protective
Protective’s universal life insurance policies offer competitive internal policy costs for most buyer ages and health issues, so more of your premium can go toward cash value. Protective has had superior performance of the bonds and mortgages underlying cash value, and its universal life insurance policy illustrations are generally reliable.
Term life insurance buyers over 50 should consider Protective’s Classic Choice policy because of its low rates.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Protective’s term life insurance rates for buyers over 50 are competitive.
- There’s a choice of up to 8 permanent life insurance policies from Protective if you choose to convert its term life.
- Protective’s cash value life insurance policies generally have low internal costs. This can mean more money goes toward your cash value.
- The company’s investments have performed very well over the years. This has likely helped keep the company’s life insurance costs lower than many competitors.
Cons
Cash value accumulation during the early years of a Protective life insurance policy may be slow. If faster cash value is important to you, make sure you examine the guaranteed parts of the policy illustration to see how quickly your cash value will build.
Penn Mutual
Term life insurance buyers over 50 will appreciate Penn Mutual’s low rates for a variety of face amounts and term lengths.
For cash value life insurance buyers, Penn Mutual offers financial strength, competitive internal policy costs and reliable policy illustrations. For buyers over age 75, especially, this helps maximize the death benefit for the premium being paid.
Pros and Cons
- Very competitive rates for term life insurance (for its non-convertible policy).
- Penn Mutual term life insurance policyholders who convert their policies to permanent life can choose from any Penn Mutual permanent life insurance policy available.
- Many of Penn Mutual’s cash value life insurance policies are cost competitive, so you can buy a higher death benefit for the premium you’re paying.
- Penn Mutual has a strong track record of financial strength, and its investments have performed very well.
Cons
- Penn Mutual’s convertible term life insurance policy is much less price competitive than its non-convertible term life.
- Not all of Penn Mutual permanent life insurance policies build cash value well early on. This may not be important to someone who’s buying life insurance for estate planning or whose main goal is to get a high death benefit for beneficiaries.
Corebridge Financial
Corebridge’s (formerly AIG Life & Retirement) Select-a-Term breaks the mold when it comes to choices of level term lengths. You can choose a custom policy length, such as 12 years. Corebridge also generally has very competitive rates that will appeal to any term life insurance buyer.
Cash value life insurance buyers over 50 will appreciate Corebridge’s strong historical performance of its investments and its reliable policy illustrations.
Pros and cons
- Excellent rates for term life insurance across a range of ages and coverage levels.
- Term life insurance buyers can customize a level term length between 10 and 35 years, such as 27 years.
- Corebridge Financial offers relatively friendly underwriting for marijuana users. Buyers who use marijuana eight or fewer days per month can still qualify for the best rate class from Corebridge. But life insurance shoppers who use marijuana frequently (more than 16 days a month or more than four days a week) should expect to be declined.
- The majority of Corebridge’s cash value life insurance policies have admirable qualities across the board, such as low internal costs, good reliability of policy illustrations and solid performance of investments that fuel cash value growth.
Cons
The company’s long-term track record of financial strength is poor but has recovered since AIG’s financial implosion in 2008.
Principal
Principal’s term life insurance policies offer competitive rates and valuable coverage features. In addition, it offers term life with a high maximum issue age of 80.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Competitive term life insurance quotes.
- High maximum issue age of 80 for 10-year term life compared to other companies.
- You can renew a term life policy up to age 95 (at higher rates once the level term period ends).
- Good for reliable policy illustrations for its cash value life insurance products.
Cons
- Principal focuses on life insurance for business owners, key employees and their families.
- There are stronger options out there for cash value products when it comes to building cash value in the early years of a policy.
- The historical performance of Principal’s investments haven’t been great for life insurance buyers over 50.
- You’ll need to buy a Conversion Extension Rider if you want the option to convert a Principal term life policy throughout the level term period (or until age 70). Without the rider, the conversion period will be limited and depend on your term length.
- The minimum term life face amount of $200,000 is higher than many competitors.
Symetra
Symetra’s low term life insurance rates helped push it to the top in our ratings. Symetra also offers cost-competitive policies for buyers of cash value life insurance.
Pros and Cons
- Low term life quotes for life insurance buyers over age 50.
- Symetra’s SwiftTerm term life insurance can be purchased quickly and without a medical exam if you’re under age 60, for up to $3 million in coverage.
Cons
- Cash value can be slow to accumulate in Symetra cash value life products for buyers over age 50.
- There has been poor performance of the company’s investments over time.
- As a relatively young company (founded in 1957), Symetra lacks a long track record of financial strength, unlike other insurers that have been in business for over 100 years
