Introduction
Taking an insurance policy might not sound like the most exciting thing for you. However, having an insurance policy is mandatory for each of us.
Taking an insurance policy during the working years of your life covers your retirement planning. As you grow older, this insurance policy will go a long way to cover your medical expenses, disability clauses, and a lot more contingencies that cover your senior citizens’ phase on the whole.
On this note, let us explore 7 enticing senior citizens’ insurance policies for above 65 years. Helping you get started here:
- Health Insurance
As your age increases, you develop increasingly significant health disorders that require you to take periodic medical checkups and consume medicines regularly.
You may be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, hypertension causing spiked blood pressure levels, or even kidney-related disorders. The starting point for people developing these disorders is when you cross 40 years of age and this is why this phase of your life is also called a mid-life crisis.
After crossing 40 years of life, these health disorders intensify allowing you to take health checkups or consume medicines on a more intensified level.
As you reach your senior citizen’s phase i.e. become 60 years or above, you also develop bone-related disorders like osteoporosis or rheumatism. Therefore, you tend to fall more often losing your grip or stability and this can result in minor or major fractures that may require you to go in for a complete hospitalization too.
Therefore, taking a comprehensive health insurance policy for those of you above 65 years is something that cannot be done away with.
- Medical insurance or cashless hospitalization
For senior citizens belonging to developing economies, rising inflation is too hard to contemplate. Apart from increasing costs of groceries or daily-use consumables like soaps and cosmetics, health costs also reveal an increasing spree.
And when people opt for retirement from their offices or working organizations, tackling rising inflationary norms sounds even more alarming.
Growing health disorders allow medicines or hospitalization expenses to grow at an exponential pace. Sounds like a nightmare to you? Yes, it is indeed!
Therefore, taking medical insurance that can allow you cashless hospitalization covering tie-ups of most hospitals that lie in the city limits you stay in is mandatory.
In a nutshell, taking a comprehensive medical policy that allows cashless hospitalization is the 2nd lucrative insurance policy for senior citizens who belong to developing economies.
- Life insurance policy
A life insurance policy is meant for those of you who may want a comprehensive scheme to dispose of your hard-earned savings to your immediate family members. This is an appropriate form of insurance that senior citizens above 65 years may find appealing.
You can choose a nominee or include all your family members are nominees too. And, while you start paying subscription premiums, you can do so on a quarterly, half-yearly, or annual basis.
And your comprehensive life insurance policy gets activated. In the event of your sudden demise or death, the proceeds of the policy go in favor of your immediate family members whose names you have mentioned as nominees while you had taken up the life insurance policy initially.
Life Insurance policy therefore stands third in the list when it comes to choosing insurance policies for above 65 years.
- Disability insurance
Not many of us have even truly heard of what disability insurance is all about. However, this is a form of research that is of paramount importance for senior citizens who have reached 65 years of age.
Many medical agencies and research companies across the US and UK have conducted several forms of research and the claims indicate that almost 25% of the young working force become partially or permanently disabled by the time they reach 67 years of age. On the contrary, not even 37% of the workforce is covered via disability insurance. This is the lop-sided situation that prevails amongst senior citizens of developed as well as developing economies.
Therefore, disability insurance is a premier form of comprehensive insurance that covers citizens ‘ costs pertaining to buying fully compatible or partially compatible wheelchairs or to help them receive medical assistance to cure disability issues or other medical ailments that arise from chronic diseases like Alzeimer’s, Paralysis and so on.
Disability insurance therefore is included on our list of top 7 insurance policies that cover senior citizens of 65 years and above.
- Nursing and palliative care insurance
Not many of you realize the fact that 70% of the elderly population need some kind of medical or long-term care post reaching 65 years of age. This can be due to the spurt in costs for availing nursing care for those patients who are diagnosed with long-term illnesses like different types of Cancers, Chronic Diabetes 2, Chronic High Blood Pressure, and so on.
Research findings reveal that the average cost of hiring a private room across nursing care centers alone amounts to US $ 108,405 while this staggering figure can go up to $141,444 by the end of 2030.
Source Credit of statistical info:
Therefore, availing an insurance policy that covers nursing and palliative medical care makes absolute sense for senior citizens who are 65 years and above.
- Home owner’s insurance
You may have purchased your home while you were in the prime years of your work life by the time you turned about 40 years or so. And, maintaining the home from constant wear and tear becomes the need of the hour for most of you.
The walls may start scraping out or water seeps in through ceiling walls during rainy or monsoon weather creating cracks or creaks inside your ceiling walls. Replacing a brand-new ceiling wall or repainting your home from time to time may cost hundreds and thousands of dollars.
As a home-owner, you may have a spend a substantial portion of your income in lieu of arranging for home repairs or maintenance of living areas of your home.
Refurbishment of kitchens is also extremely expensive in countries like the US, Dubai UAE the UK, and other advanced nations. Taking a homeowner’s insurance can provide you with ample coverage to cover home maintenance or repair expenses once every 2 years/ 5 years / 7 years.
Therefore, a homeowner’s insurance policy is a contingent insurance policy for middle-aged and senior citizens belonging to developed as well as developing economies.
- Automobile insurance
It is not an underestimated figure if we were to say that more than 1 million car crashes take place in the US every single year. Therefore, having comprehensive automobile insurance is a crucial part of your life if you belong to the age group between 40-65 or even beyond 67 plus.
Automobile insurance can cover costs arising due to collision of vehicles helping both parties recover some portion of the insured amount towards repairing their damaged cars or pay the other party an entire portion of car damage charges if case you were found to be at fault.
For senior citizens, you can avail of an insurance policy that helps you cover charges pertaining to the upkeep or maintenance of your car.
Automobile insurance is therefore a fabulous insurance policy that keeps your vehicles covered for decades to come.
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7 types of insurance policies you do and don’t need
What are the factors you choose while you are choosing an insurance company?
Let us look into what factors you choose while you are opting for the right insurance policy. Helping you through a run-down with respect to the same:
- Credibility and financial strength of the insurance company
You must look into the credibility and the financial strength of the individual insurance company you are looking for. Only if the financial strength of an insurance company is good, you be able to avail your claims for the insurance policy you plan to take.
Redemption of claims in the face of eventualities or calamities is what the insurance policy is meant for. You can get your redemption amount credited into your bank account in case you make your claims to the insurance company.
Therefore, looking for the credibility and financial strength of the insurance company is the first and foremost factor you decide while choosing an insurance company for your needs.
- Shopping for your needs online
When you keep shopping for your needs online, you can come across different insurance brands that offer you different insurance plans.
Going through the characteristic features of each insurance policy, you know what each insurance brand offers you in a nutshell. This way, you get well-informed cues on what every type of insurance policy is all about.
Say for instance, you are 60 years of age and you expect the provider to choose a plan that ensures your treatment expenses meet your requirement, then this is the exact policy you must take.
This way, you may take one if the policy covers the intricate circumstances you are in for which the policy has to be covered.
Although online shopping may take a longer time, it is worth taking the effort when it comes to choosing the right insurance policy that comprehensively takes care of your needs in a precise and effective manner.
- Look for the reputation of the firm
You must look for the reputation of the firm you are looking for. To know if your insurance brand is of good credibility, you can visit the official website of the insurance firm you are planning to zero in on.
You can look at customer testimonials or ask the firm to showcase the clients the firm has previously worked with. This way you know what kind of a reputation the insurance firm carries under its umbrella.
This is an important consideration for you to look at while choosing an insurance company for your needs.
- Looking for certifications that showcase the brand as the best
You can also look if the insurance company has certifications with leading healthcare companies or hospitals. This way, you can make sure that you are signing up with an authentic brand indeed.
The insurance brand must also have a tie-up with a leading chain of hospitals within the city limits you are in. This way, you can avail of cashless hospitalization services from the hospital or health care unit, the insurance brand has a tie-up with.
Looking for an insurance brand that has a good tie-up with major hospitals and their franchisee outlets make sure you are signing up with the right insurance firm.
- Customer care services
You must look if the customer care services are provided by the insurance brand you are looking for. While you may send your correspondence or queries via telephone or email, you want the customer care team to get back to you immediately.
Or, you may at least want a customer care executive to let you know if the insurance-based relationship manager would get back to you at the earliest and when so that you get your grievances or concerns resolved at the earliest.
When the customer care department does not act promptly to your queries or concerns, then this is a red flag you must be looking for. Then, the insurance firm can be dropped off your chosen list.
- Does the insurance company have a digital presence?
You must see if the brand you are looking for has a digital presence or not. The website of the firm must open on your laptop, mobile phone, or tablet. This way, you can access the website even while you are out on the go.
You can also enquire if the brand has its own app so that you can download the app on your mobile phone or smart tablet. And, you can get access to the updates churned out by the insurance firm in a timely and efficient manner.
Therefore, an insurance firm must have a digital presence for you to go in favor of the same.
What are some of the important guidelines you keep in mind while applying for an insurance policy?
These are some of the important guidelines you keep in mind while applying for an insurance policy. Let us look at what they are:
- Do not go for pricey premiums
A good insurance brand would never charge you with pricey premiums knowing if you cannot afford to pay them. The executive who helps you choose a brand must also assess your risk tolerance and gauge your income potential before showcasing premium plans.
- Do not pay for insurance policies you may not require in the first place
Sometimes, FMCG companies may lure you with insurance claims you won’t need. But just to push product sales, they include an insurance component inside their product USPs.
Let us look into what such kind of policies are:
2.1 Mortgage life insurance policy
This life insurance states that in the eventuality of your death, the company will pay off your remaining mortgage balance. However, this isn’t the case. The money goes to the mortgage lender and not to your surviving family members. Hence this is more of a scam over the real one.
2.2 Flight insurance policy
Every credit card company charges you a flight-insurance premium every time you purchase an airline ticket using the credit card. This is a hidden charge that is going out from your wallet with no extra benefit that is received by you or your family members in case you die on account of an air crash or something.
The airlines would compensate your family members even if you have not purchased the airline ticket with the flight insurance premium. This is in the eventuality of your death during an impending air crash.
Here, you can also check the option if you have a resident status belonging to a different country after all.
2.3 Credit Insurance
Some of the popular insurance companies may lure you to take credit insurance wherein your credit card bills would be paid by the insurance company in the eventuality of your death. This is again a claim you may want to get carried away with unless you read between the lines.
While you die, your credit card balances cease to exist and the credit card company cannot bill surviving family members to pay the bills as the credit card statements are issued under your name.
Moreover, credit card insurance provides you with hefty premium plans. So, this is a type of insurance claim that is hyped up over providing real-utility value to consumers.
The Bottom Line
While choosing an insurance firm several factors and guidelines need to be looked into.
As a well-informed member, it is always the best idea to go through the terms and conditions given on the offer disclosure documents before signing in on the dotted lines.
This way, you pick a plan that is tailor-made for your needs and gives you the full benefit on what you are looking for.
