What is over-50s life insurance?
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In short: Over-50s life insurance — often called guaranteed acceptance whole-of-life cover — pays a fixed cash sum when you die, with no medical questions for UK residents aged 50 to 85 (upper age varies by insurer). Premiums are level monthly payments that you typically pay for life, or until a specified age such as 90.
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Policies guarantee acceptance regardless of health — useful if standard life insurance declined you for medical reasons. The trade-off is lower payout relative to premiums paid compared with underwritten term insurance for healthy applicants.
Cash sums are fixed at outset — £1,000 to £20,000 typical — and do not track inflation unless you buy increasing cover options.
Payouts go to beneficiaries or your estate unless the policy is written in trust, which can speed payment and may sit outside inheritance tax calculations in some structures.
Waiting periods — often 12 or 24 months — apply before full death benefit pays for natural causes; accidental death may pay immediately from day one. See over-50s life insurance explained guide.
Primary source: abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/topics-and-issues/life-insurance
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