Here's some good information for you to decide if a parent could use some small amount of coverage of burial and final expenses.

1. lifenetinsurance.com http://www.lifenetinsurance.com/blog-0/do-parents-need-life-insurance-too
Do Parents Need Life Insurance Too?
Posted by Lenny Robbins on Oct 12, 2014 7:26:12 PM
Find me on:
Did you know that there are many reasons why life insurance for parents may be a good idea? You need to consider
not only the reasons they may need life insurance, but what are the consequences if it isn't purchased. Who will foot
the bills? Let's figure out the best ways to approach getting your parents insured.
Reasons for Coverage
There are numerous reasons why your parent(s) may need insurance coverage. Some of the more common ones
are:
Final expenses- do you know that the average cost of funerals in the US is over $7000. Do your parents have
enough savings to cover their final expenses?

2. Debts- will your parents leave debts behind? Life insurance can be used by the beneficiary for anything at all
and is generally a tax free payment.
Medical Bills- this falls in the debt category, but you may not know at this time how likely it is that costly
medical bills will be amassed.
Mortgage Payments-will your parent's house be paid off when they pass away? If so, it will be an asset
for you. If not, what do you do? Some life insurnce money may ease this burden for you.
Inheritance- do your parents want to leave a little bit of money to their children or grandchildren? If they are on
a fixed income, life insurance can increase the amount of money left at the end of their time.
What Kind of Coverage is Available?
Senior citizens can purchase term life, whole life or universal life. There are different types of policies available based
on your needs, finances and insurability. However, when you are dealing with seniors and end of life reasons for life
insurance, term policies don't make a lot of sense. If your parent outlives the term period, the cost of that policy will
skyrocket and likely make it unaffordable. You want to consider only policies that last a lifetime.
Universal life insurance is permanent coverage that is very flexible. It can be structured so that cash does not
accumulate and the premiums and face amount are fixed. This is the most cost efficient type of policy
available. It requires a paramedic exam and full underwriting. There is a $25,000 minimum face amount.
Whole life insurance is permanent coverage too. There are final expense policies that have simplified
underwriting, meaning that a paramedic exam is not required and the underwriting is much easier. The policies
range from $2,000 up to $40,000. For more coverage you would have to purchase policies from multiple
companies.
There are whole life policies that are fully underwritten for higher amounts of coverage, however, you
will find that Universal policies for the same amount of coverage will likely be less expensive.
There are whole life policies available for purchase to anyone, no matter what their health. However,
they only return premium for the first two years (with interest). After that they would pay the full face
amount.
How Do You Know Which Type of Policy is Best?
There are a few things to consider...
How is your parent's health? This is one of the more important questions you have to consider as their
insurability affects the products you can consider.
How much insurance are you looking for? This will help you hone in on which type of coverage is best suited to
fulfill your goals.
How much coverage can you or your parent afford? This is another important question as no one wants to be
house poor.
Click here to see questions and answers on senior life insurance.
Buying Life Insurance for your Father
Men are usually more expensive to insure than women. The reasons for this is that men's life spans are statistically
shorter, they just don't live as long. It's a good idea to talk with an independent agent who specialized in seniors.
They will know what the least expensive options are. Has your Father had insurance for most of his working life? If so,
he may be inclined to understand the value of life insurance as part of a financial plan.

3. Buying Life Insurance for your Mother
As women usually live longer than men, your Mother may be the last of the pair to pass. The children will be
responsible for making and paying for all of the final arrangements. This is how a life insurance policy can ease the
worry about how all expenses will be paid.
The Bottom Line
Talking to your Mother and/or Father about purchasing life insurance may not be the easiest conversation to have. But
you may find it to be a necessary one. Get all the facts before you start. A conversation with an independent life
insurance agent will give you indispensable information to share with your parents. Have that talk today because life
insurance gets more expensive every year you wait.
Topics: senior life insurance, final expense life insurance