You might say:
But what about smoking?
I say:
Good point but you can always quit and make yourself a non smoker 👌
You can’t make yourself younger.
Or can you?
With every birthday, age affects life insurance, resulting in higher premiums.
But you can avoid this by backdating your policy.
It’s a totally legit way of reducing the cost of your cover.
All other things being equal, the older you are, the more likely you are to die before a younger person.
Thus, older people represent a bigger risk of a claim to the insurer.
So, the insurer will charge older people a higher premium for life insurance than younger people.
A 30-year-old pays more for her cover than a 29-year-old, a 44-year-old pays more than a 43-year-old and so on.
Some examples of how you age affects life insurance quotes:
Let’s quote Brian for €250,000 over 25 years.
Imagine Brian turned 50 on the 18th of June.
Today is the 26th of June.
We can change the start date of his policy to June 1st, turn back time, and make him one year younger.
Brian now qualifies for a lower rate.
Brian must pay June’s premium, but in the long term, he will save by locking in the lower price for his policy term.
Three months is usually the longest the insurers will allow.
So if you have had a birthday in the last three months, you may be able to get a lower price.
Some insurers will backdate to 6 months, but this is case-by-case.
Let me know if you’d like me to look into it.
Backdating mortgage protection works in the same way. To calculate how much you’ll save:
Using the example above, here’s the maths.
You can save €2253 by backdating your policy.
Not too shabby, eh?
The older you are, the stricter the life insurance underwriting is.
If you’re 49, you might get cover based on an application form alone.
However, the insurer may request a medical screening for a 50-year-old.
The medical could affect your premium if the medical screening reveals a health condition you were unaware of
Unfortunately, you can’t backdate your age to avoid a medical.
You can only plan by applying before you hit a milestone age.
Hi Nick, I’m looking for life insurance but I’m confused and don’t know whether to go for the whole of life cover or normal, is it term life cover? What’s the maximum age for life insurance anyway? Cheers! Linda
I received this question a few months back, and we get asked it often because life insurance costs vary with age.
You can buy a policy that covers you until you hit 91.
Zurich: €5000
Royal London: €10000
Aviva: €12000
Congratulations, old-timer!
However, as you have outlived your policy, the insurer will pocket your premiums as payment for providing the promise to pay your claims had you passed.
Lovin the alliteration in that sentence.
The only way to guarantee your policy pays out eventually is with whole-of-life assurance.
Let’s take a 50-year-old man looking to put €10,000 life insurance in place to pay for his funeral.
With Zurich, €10,000 40-year life insurance costs €10 per month.
€10,000 whole of life assurance cost €14.72
If you need it for funeral expenses, always go for whole life assurance rather than term life insurance.
75
Also 75.
The same rule applies to S72 inheritance tax life assurance.
Are you considering life insurance with a birthday fast approaching?
Have you just celebrated a birthday?
Let me show you how to backdate your policy.
With my help, you, too, can be Dorian Gray.
Even if it’s not your birthday, but you’d like me to recommend the types of cover you need based on your current situation, fill out this questionnaire, and I’ll be right back.
Or you can request a callback here.
Thanks for reading
Nick
Editor’s Note | We first published this blog in 2016 and have regularly updated it since.
As Ireland's leading life insurance broker, we specialise in comparing the rates and policies from the top five Irish life insurance providers and offering the very best value quotes to suit the individual needs of our clients. Our expertise lies in finding a suitable insurance plan for those with specific needs, be it a particular illness, occupation or claim history, we've got you covered in every sense!
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