Why Age Matters When It Comes to Life Insurance

How does your age affect your life insurance?young couple on the laptop

In general, the younger you are, the cheaper your life insurance will be.  This is why people are encouraged to secure life insurance early in life.  But why does age play such a big role in life insurance costs?  Here’s what you need to know.

Why Younger Equals Lower Rates

Term life insurance is particularly time-sensitive when determining your rates.  This is because term life insurance only covers you for a specific period of time and, the closer your coverage expiration date is to your life expectancy, the more it will cost you.  When you are young, your life expectancy is so far away, that you are considered very low risk to insure.  As a result, you are offered cheaper rates.  The older you are, the closer you are to your life expectancy.  This means a higher risk of death during your coverage period and, therefore, higher premiums.

Age and Health

Another reason why younger individuals typically pay less for life insurance is because they tend to be healthier than older applicants.  Generally, the older you get, the more likely you are to develop health conditions such as:

  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Heart Disease
  • High Blood Pressure
  • High Cholesterol
  • ADD/ADHD
  • Depression
  • Chronic Obtrusive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
  • Arthritis
  • Cancer
  • Kidney Disease

When you have serious medical conditions, you are more likely to develop life-threatening complications and have a shorter life expectancy.  Naturally, this makes you higher-risk to insure.  While not all older individuals have medical conditions, insurers will consider them more likely to develop them than a younger applicant.  As such, older individuals will be charged more for their life insurance coverage.

This is how your age affects your life insurance costs.  Do you have additional questions regarding your life insurance coverage?  If so, then contact the experts at ISU-Wissink Insurance in Culver City, California.  We are ready to assist you with all your coverage needs today.