You’re 50 and Love to Take Risks and Now You Need Life Insurance

By fifty, most people have matured. They’ve spent a good portion of their life gathering valuable experience and knowledge. Then there are those who still love to have fun and are so busy enjoying themselves that they forgot a few important details…like life insurance.

If you’ve hit the big FIVE-OH, have a few health issues, and still love to live on the edge in a way that scares the crap out of the grandkids and insurers alike, finding an affordable life insurance policy might be a bit of a problem. The key is to work with an agent who gets both mistakes and adrenaline rushes, but who has the established experience and knowledge needed to find the right insurer for your not-so-typical lifestyle. Don’t trust your future to a rookie without the contacts, understanding, and industry experience necessary to get you qualified for a policy that fits your past transgressions and present hair-raising activities.

You Call it Fun...They Call it Risky Business

Insurers speak in a language that revolves around risk. Many people shopping for life insurance — especially those over 50 — assume that means health risks, and not sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. However, life insurance companies will typically classify a number of non-health activities as high-risk, too.

Therefore, if you’re 50 and still brave enough to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, insurers may have a few extra hurdles for you. Other lifestyle factors — mostly the kind you used to lecture the kids about — that will affect your rates and approval include:

• Multiple speeding tickets
• Use of opioid pain relievers
• Drug or alcohol treatment
• Scuba diving or hang gliding
• Uncontrolled diabetes
• A DUI conviction

Even a puff of a legal cannabis prescription can be considered a high-risk. Despite the obstacles, there is a life insurance policy that will satisfy your budget and need to keep the party going until sixty.

Like the Song Says...You Better Shop Around

Finding an agent who shares the joy of scuba diving is the perfect way to connect and talk policies. That’s a rarity, so instead, try working with an established agent experienced with multiple insurers. It’s the best way to find coverage when you’re over 50 and getting slapped with high-risk labels. Life insurance companies who specialize in high-risk cases continue to write policies for senior adults who some people may call the problem children of their generation, but are really enjoying life.

A qualified agent will know how to shop your risk in a way that mitigates costs or denials. Every life insurance customer is a commodity in a competitive market — including markets that specialize in high-risk cases.

The more options your agent finds, the better your chances for an affordable policy that provides quality coverage and security.

Patience is a High Risk Virtue

When insurers classify you as a high-risk candidate, patience is a necessity that pays off. Don’t put off buying insurance any longer, but rushing into coverage simply because of age won’t benefit your cause. Once you put your application in a trusted agent’s capable hands, make her job easier and try not to do anything crazy to jeopardize your prospect of coverage.

Don’t wave additional red flags. You may love skydiving, but once you submit your application, put the Red Bull down and wait a while before you try jumping from the stratosphere.

Additionally, don’t make simultaneous applications to multiple companies. Nothing alerts insurance carriers more than seeing a high-risk candidate trying to buy a few million dollar policies at once. That’s a move will earn you a big red DENIED on your application.

No matter what your pursuit, the biggest risk you can take is not trusting an independent agent’s advice to find the best rate and the most coverage for your individual age and love of adrenaline.