“Guaranteed acceptance and no medical questions? Tell me more,” you’re probably thinking. But there might also be a nagging voice asking “What’s the catch?”.
It’s a fair question to ask. There are things that you need to know about guaranteed life insurance before you go ahead and take out a policy.
That’s where we come in – providing you with all the crucial details to allow you to make an informed decision about what life insurance policy is right for you.
What is guaranteed life insurance and is it right for you?
Guaranteed life insurance works like any other life insurance product: it provides a lump sum payment to the person of your choice when you die.
But there’s a difference: with standard life insurance you fill out a questionnaire describing your lifestyle and any health conditions you have – you could even be asked to take a medical examination, based on the answers you give. With guaranteed life insurance, you only need to provide minimal details.
It’s designed for over 50s who might have found getting cover hard to come by, perhaps due to a pre-existing health issue. Of course, there are lots of fit and healthy 50-plussers – if you fit into this category, guaranteed life insurance might not be for you, as another product could be more affordable and beneficial.
How can insurers guarantee you life cover?
If you’ve been declined life insurance in the past, you might be wondering how you can suddenly be guaranteed cover without as much as giving over your name and age.
This is probably a good place to highlight some of the pros and cons of guaranteed life insurance, which will give you some indication as to how insurers do it:
The main advantages of guaranteed acceptance life insurance are:
● No medical checks: You won’t even be asked whether you have any health issues to declare, let alone sit a medical – it really takes the stress out of buying life insurance
● No lifestyle questions: You don’t need to worry about being ‘judged’ for your lifestyle choices such as smoking or a lack of exercise
● Guaranteed payout: Most policies pay out a fixed lump sum whenever you die, which can be used however your loved ones see fit
● Fixed payments: You’ll pay the same in premiums throughout the policy term – up until you reach a certain age (usually 80-90) when the premiums may be waived
The mains disadvantages of guaranteed acceptance life insurance are:
● Higher costs: The insurer is taking a risk by offering you life cover without checking your health – the trade-off for this is higher premiums compared to those on standard life insurance policies
● Limited pay-outs: Many policies cap the payout they are prepared to offer you and your loved ones – don’t expect to be able to negotiate more than £25,000, unless you’re prepared to pay a lot more
● Minimum terms: If you die within a year or two of buying the policy, your loved ones will often receive the value of the premiums you’ve paid so far, rather than the full payout (except in the case of accidents)
So, in short, insurers can guarantee life insurance because they put things in place to cover their risk. Most people see this as a fair deal – but, of course, it depends on the terms of the cover you’re offered!
Does guaranteed life insurance pay out if you die from a pre-existing health condition?
As we mentioned, insurers put in certain conditions to ensure they aren’t taking on undue risk.
So, if you were to die from a medical condition – whether it was pre-existing when you took out the policy or not – only a couple of years into the cover, your beneficiaries will only receive the amount you’ve paid in premiums.
In other words, your loved ones will get a ‘refund’ and nothing more. If you’re worried about this, it’s important to read the terms and conditions before buying a policy. But also to consider the alternative: not taking out any kind of cover.
If you’re not happy with the minimum terms offered by an insurer, you might want to shop around to see if any provider can offer your better terms.
What are the alternatives to guaranteed life insurance?
Guaranteed life insurance isn’t the right insurance product for everyone. If you aren’t carrying any existing medical conditions – and live a fairly healthy lifestyle – you might find that standard life insurance offers better value.
Even as you pass the 50-year-old mark, you might still be able to be covered by whole of life insurance, for an affordable price. Or perhaps life insurance isn’t as accessible as you first thought, or there’s nobody who is an obvious beneficiary of a payout in the event of your death.
Income protection, critical illness cover and private medical insurance are options for people who perhaps don’t have any dependents. This kind of cover helps ensure that you don’t get into financial problems should you get an injury or illness which forces you out of work and needing to seek treatment.
To understand all the options available to you, simply speak to one of our experts.
How much does guaranteed life insurance cost?
Before taking out a policy, it’s a good idea to generate some quotes to get a good idea of what represents a realistic cost for guaranteed life insurance.
Even though limited details are taken from you to provide you with an estimate, that’s not to say that everybody will pay the same in premiums.
Here at QuoteSearch, our cutting-edge technology compares prices and cover directly from leading providers. We don’t have any favourite suppliers – the quotes that you see are comprehensive and competitive.
So, you can be sure we’re doing everything we can to get you enough bang for your buck!
To compare your free guaranteed life insurance quotes from leading providers, click here.