You can see some real guaranteed issue life insurance quotes on this page in one of two ways. First, you can scroll down to see rates from a variety of companies that offer this kind of coverage. On the other hand, you can use the quick quote form on this page which will show prices as well. Guaranteed life insurance.
Are you considering purchasing a guaranteed issue life insurance policy?
Maybe it was recommended by a friend, maybe you are attracted to the idea of not having to answer health questions, or maybe you think it’s your only option.
Regardless of why you are researching this type of life insurance, there is much to know before you sign on the dotted line.
Here’s a little spoiler alert: Most people should not be buying a guaranteed acceptance policy. The majority of applicants can get a lower price and avoid a waiting period by answering some health questions.
This article is meant to serve as a truly impartial resource to bring clarity to this subject. We will lay out all the facts, andlet you decide for yourself.
So here’s what we will cover in this piece…
We’ll thoroughly explain what guaranteed life insurance is, discuss the pros and cons, talk about when it’s a good & bad idea to purchase it, show you real prices from all the companies that offer this coverage, and reveal a secret about this kind of insurance most websites won’t share with you.
Article Quick Guide
What Is Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance?
Simply put, guaranteed issue life insurance is a life insurance policy that has no underwriting whatsoever. The insurance company blindly issues the policy without knowing a single detail about your health.
They do not ask health questions, and they do not check your prescription or medical history.
You could have any number of dire illnesses or chronic diseases, and it simply will not matter. Acceptance is always guaranteed which is why they include the word “guaranteed” in the name.
There are many labels for no questions life insurance policies
Most industries develop clever marketing terms as a way to give their potential buyers better insight regarding their product or service. The insurance companies kind of ran away with this concept. At the end of the day, the term “guaranteed issue life insurance” is a marketing characterization. It’s not a title that was created by some regulatory body such as the department of insurance.
In fact, guaranteed acceptance life insurance for seniors has many other similar marketing terms you will encounter.
Thankfully, all these terms refer to the same exact thing. ABC Insurance Company may prefer to use the label “guaranteed life insurance no health questions”, and XYZ Insurance Company might prefer to call it “guaranteed life insurance”.
In the end, it’s the choice of the insurance company, and their marketing agencies regarding which label they choose. It’s very similar to the words “lawyer” and “attorney”. They both mean the same exact thing.
Here are all the possible synonyms for kind of policy:
Guaranteed life insurance
Guaranteed whole life insurance
Guaranteed issue burial insurance
Guaranteed issue funeral insurance
Guaranteed acceptance life insurance
Guaranteed issue final expense insurance
Guaranteed issue final expense life insurance
No questions life insurance
No questions burial insurance
No questions funeral insurance
No questions final expense insurance
It’s Always A Guaranteed Whole Life Insurance Policy
There are many different insurance companies that offer guaranteed acceptance life insurance for seniors. It does not matter which company you buy from. A guaranteed life insurance policy is always whole life insurance. We’ve checked, and every single company that offers this guaranteed coverage does so in the form of whole life insurance.
You will not find a guaranteed issue term life insurance plan. They simply do not exist.
Insider Tip: A term life insurance policy is one that expires after a certain number of years. You are basically renting the coverage for a period of time. A term life policy will typically last until the age of 80. Once it expires, you cannot get a new one, and you don’t get any money back. Your coverage is simply over with. At the age of 80, your only option would be to take out a whole life insurance plan which is still available at this age. However, due to your age, it’s quite expensive.
Because these policies are guaranteed whole life insurance, the following will always be true. Please note that this rule applies regardless of which company you buy your policy from.
The monthly payments cannot increase
The death benefits cannot decrease
The policy will accrue cash value which you can borrow from
The Mandatory Waiting Period
You might be thinking that it’s a bit odd that a life insurance company would offer a policy without inquiring about your health. Just know they aren’t going to offer a product or service that is destined to lose them money.
Every single no questions life insurance policy (this applies to every company offering this kind of plan) will always impose a death benefit restriction during the first 2-3 years of the policy (it’s 2 years with most companies).
Basically, if you pass away during the waiting period, the insurance company will not pay out any death benefit. Instead, they will refund all the premiums you put into the policy. In addition, they will also tack on some interest as a nice little benefit. Usually, the interest they grant is 10%.
After the waiting period has passed, you are fully protected forever. At this point, the insurance company will pay the full death benefit if you pass away for any reason. Below you can see an actual screen shot directly from Gerber Life’s website (a major provider for this kind of insurance) describing the waiting period.
Life quotes life insurance
Accident’s Are The One Exception
Every guaranteed acceptance life policy will immediately pay out the full face value of the policy if death is due to an accident. This is a true statement even during the waiting period.
Beware Of Misleading Information
There are some articles online that suggest these policies might not pay a death benefit during the first two years if death is non-accidental. It’s truly puzzling why some authors use verbiage that would suggest there is a possibility your policy won’t pay out during the waiting period.
No guaranteed life policy with any company will ever pay out any portion of a death benefit if you die (non-accidental) during the first two years. There is no grey area, no chance, no possibility, or any scenario where your beneficiary will receive a death benefit if you die from natural causes during the first two years.
If anyone tells you a guaranteed issue policy will pay out any death benefits (for non accidental death) during the first 2 years, run because you are being lied to.
You Can’t Buy Very Much Coverage
Due to the fact that these kinds of policies attract people in poor health, they become a very risky proposition for the insurance companies even though they have the two year waiting period. Ultimately, this high level of risk must be mitigated in various ways.
One of the main ways the insurers mitigate their risk with these policies is they limit the amount of coverage they offer to relatively small amounts. In general, most guaranteed issue companies won’t allow you to buy more than $25,000 in coverage.
There are only 3 requirements
Quite honestly, these requirements are standard with any form of life insurance with any company. Guaranteed whole life insurance is no exception to this rule
If you wish to purchase a guaranteed policy, you will need to abide by the follow three requirements.
State Availability
Not every insurance company will have all their products licensed in every state. If you are going to take out a guaranteed acceptance life policy, make sure the company has it available in your state.
Age Limitations
In regards to age, every company will have their own age availability restrictions. This simply refers to the ages where they accept new applicants. In general, guaranteed issue life insurance companies don’t make their products available to anyone under the age of 50. There are some that do, but they are rather uncommon.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, many insurance companies will stop taking applicants who are older than 80. This is not to say that there aren’t still some guaranteed issue options for folks in their 80’s because there certainly are. There just aren’t many of them.
Ability To Enter Into A Legal Contract
Last but not least, you must have the mental capacity to enter into a legal contract. For example, if you have Alzheimer’s and are no longer able to legally consent to an agreement, they will not accept you.
Here’s The Hidden Truth About Guaranteed Life Insurance
When you see ads online, through the mail, and on TV, they all make it seem as if these policies are the best thing since sliced bread.
While these policies do have their place, they are not for everyone.
So here’s the truth that no advertisement will tell you
The overwhelming majority of people should not be purchasing a guaranteed acceptance policy.
Ouch that is pretty harsh, but it’s 100% the truth.
If you are in search of a policy to ensure your end of life costs are all taken care of, there is about a 90% chance you can qualify for a burial expense policy that has underwriting.¹
Qualifying for a plan with underwriting will result in two HUGE benefits.
You obtain a policy that fully protects you starting on day one of your policy. That’s right; no 2-3 year waiting period before your policy will pay benefits!
Your monthly payments will be substantially less. Because you are qualifying with your health, the insurance company is taking on less risk which means they can charge less for the insurance.
A final expense life insurance policy that has underwriting is merely one where the insurance company assesses your health. They don’t require physical or medical exams. What they will do is ask you some questions about your health, and check your medication history.
So here’s the question to ask yourself:Would you rather willingly and unnecessarily pay a substantially higher premium and endure a two year waiting period when you don’t have to?
We have found that most folks are more than happy to answer a few health questions if it means paying less, and having coverage that actually protects them immediately.
It’s a free country, so it’s up to you. As we said from the beginning, we just bring you the truth. It’s your job to decide
Don’t Assume Your Health Will Prevent You From Securing Coverage That Asks About Your HealthTo be perfectly blunt, the life insurance industry is darn competitive. There are literally thousands of insurance companies in the USA, and they are all fighting for business.
The key thing to understand about life insurance companies is they all have their own unique underwriting. They all accept and decline different health conditions.
It’s important to understand that life insurance companies compete in two main ways.
An insurance company can either charge less money to gain an edge, or devise their product to absorb higher levels of risk in order to capture a larger portion of the market.
Here’s an example to illustrate how this happens.
Let’s say ABC Insurance Company does not want diabetic applicants. Truthfully, many life insurance companies don’t. At the same time, XYZ Insurance Company is trying to figure out how to stand out in the market, and acquire more clients. This causes them to look for gaps in the market.
When they see that ABC Insurance Company turns away diabetics, they see this as an opportunity. This results in XYZ Insurance Company designing their underwriting to gladly accept diabetics. This gives them an edge in the market because they can capture a client that ABC Insurance Company could not.
It’s a huge win for diabetics too because now they have an insurance company that will insure them!
That kind of scenario above plays out all the time for all sorts of risk factors.
The competitive environment among all the insurance companies has resulted in pretty much every risk (outside of some very very high risk conditions) possible being insurable by some company(s).
The question really isn’t- Will they accept your health conditions?
Rather the question is usually- How many insurance company(s) will accept the conditions you deal with?
Our statistics show that over 90% of folks looking for a final expense policy easily qualify for a plan that asks health questions.¹
Don’t assume that you don’t qualify for an underwritten plan because you probably do!
When Is Guaranteed Life Insurance No Health Questions A Good Buy?
You already know that most people should not be defaulting to this kind of policy because they can likely qualify for one that has underwriting. However, there are indeed some circumstances where a guaranteed acceptance life policy is appropriate.
Essentially, a no health question life plan is a good buy in one of three circumstances.
It is your only option due to your health
It is your cheapest option due to your health
Despite the drawbacks, you have a personal preference
Each situation is unique, and we will explore the circumstances for each one, so that you have the knowledge to make the best decision for you and your family.
It’s Your Only Option
As you are no doubt aware, life insurance companies manage their risk by assessing the health of an applicant. They hire actuaries who study mortality tables, so they can fully understand the average life expectancy for every health issue imaginable.
In the end, all carriers know, based on the numbers, which afflictions are so high risk that they are uninsurable. Basically, they can’t insure these health issues because doing so would constitute an inevitable financial loss.
If you have any of the following health conditions, you are considered uninsurable. There is no life insurance company that would accept you given these conditions. These are called knockout conditions. The first set of health questions on any life insurance application will be the knockout questions.
It’s for that reason that a guaranteed issue life policy would be your only option. Remember, there is no medical underwriting with a guarantee issue life policy, so even these ultra high risk conditions won’t matter.
You have a terminal illness and have been given a life expectancy of 24 months or less
You have ever had or been recommended to have any kind of organ or tissue transplant
You are currently on dialysis
You have been diagnosed with or been treated for Alzheimer’s or Dementia
You are receiving hospice care
You are confined to a wheelchair due to a chronic illness or disease
You currently have cancer (except basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer)
You have AIDS (HIV is insurable in some situations, but it’s very tough to qualify)
It Is Your Cheapest Option Due To Your Health
There are some health scenarios that are very high risk, but not so high risk that they are uninsurable.
The following health issues would cause life insurance companies to react in two ways:
They will charge you a lot more (anywhere from 50-150% more)
They will at minimum impose a waiting period
Basically, you would apply like normal, and answer all their health questions. There would either be one or many questions that you would say yes to. Because you said yes to some of their questions (non knockout ones), the insurer places you into a higher risk category that warrants a much higher price and a waiting period.
They key thing to understand is the waiting period is static if these health issues apply to you. Whether you answer health questions or go with a guaranteed issue policy, you will endure a waiting period. Given this, why not pay less?
Ultimately, if any of the health situations apply to you, you stand to save money by purchasing a guaranteed issue life policy from either Gerber Life, Mutual of Omaha, or AIG.
You have congestive heart failure**
You had a heart attack within the last 12 months
You had a full blown stroke (mini strokes/TIA attacks are accepted) within the last 12 months
You had a heart or circulatory surgery within the last 12 months
You had or have been treated for internal cancer or melanoma (the cancer must be gone) within the last 24 months
You use oxygen to assist with breathing (excluding use for sleep apnea)**
You’ve had or been treated for chest pains (angina) within the last 12 months
It’s A Personal Preference
Honestly, there are some people who are in love with the convenience of getting coverage without having to answer a single question about their health. Then there are some people who love the idea that they are guaranteed to be accepted.
While we urge you to pursue other options before you pull the trigger on a guaranteed issue policy, the choice is yours.
We live in a free country. You are free to make choices as you see fit, and thank God we can do that. It’s one of the many things that makes this the greatest nation in the history of time.
Buy life insurance policy
If for whatever reason you would prefer to just default to a guaranteed acceptance no health question policy, go for it!
We certainly don’t recommend it, but if that’s what you truly want- go for it.
When Is Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance Not A Good Buy?
In general, you don’t want to buy a guarantee issue life policy if you are able to qualify for a life insurance policy that has underwriting.
It’s not debatable. Guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance is by far the most expensive life insurance.
Not to beat a dead horse here, but this is the truth. The reality is that most people can, and do qualify for whole life policies that assess your health. Doing so means immediate coverage, and a much lower monthly premium.
Guaranteed acceptance life insurance for seniors should only be used as a last resort. If you want to make it super simple, call us at 1-800-644-2926, and we will quickly let you know if you are eligible for a plan that has underwriting.
The Top 10 Most Well Known Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance Companies
As time goes on, more and more insurance companies will enter this market.
Every single guaranteed life policy with every company is virtually identical. The only measurable difference is the monthly rate.
Below you will find the 10 most popular insurance companies that offer this guaranteed coverage. We’ve taken the liberty of outlining the following for each company:
Sample rates for various ages
Length of the waiting period
Interest granted if non-accidental death occurs during the waiting period
Background information about the insurer
Mutual of Omaha Guaranteed Issue- Male
Mutual Of Omaha Guaranteed Issue- Female
Gerber Life Guaranteed Issue- Male
Gerber Life Guaranteed Issue- Female
AIG Guaranteed Issue- Male
AIG Guaranteed Issue- Female
Physicians Mutual Guaranteed Issue- Male
Physician's Mutual Guaranteed Issue- Female
AAA Guaranteed Issue- Male
AAA Guaranteed Issue- Female
MassMutual Guaranteed Issue- Male
MassMutual Guaranteed Issue- Female
AARP New York Life Guaranteed Issue- Male
AARP New York Life Guaranteed Issue- Female
Vantis Life Guaranteed Issue- Male
Vantis Life Guaranteed Issue- Female
Colonial Penn has a very strange way of pricing their insurance. They use a “unit” system. A unit will represent a certain amount of insurance coverage. Rather than the price of coverage increasing with age, they just make it so that a unit provides less and less coverage. The older you are, the less coverage a unit provides. A single unit costs $9.95 regardless of your age. With Colonial Penn, you can’t buy a static amount of coverage such as $10,000. Instead, you purchase however many units it will take for you to get the total amount of coverage you are looking for. Honestly, it’s a very odd method for the pricing of insurance.
Colonial Penn Guaranteed Issue- Male
Colonial Penn Guaranteed Issue- Female
Kemper Guaranteed Issue- Male
Kemper Guaranteed Issue- Female
What To Do Before You Buy A Guarantee Issue Life Insurance Policy
The advice in this section is really meant for those who are interested in the following benefits:
You would prefer to get more coverage for each dollar spent
You would prefer to get coverage that protects you sooner than later
If that kind of value is of interest to you read on. If not, just pull the trigger on a guarantee issue life policy and call it a day.
For those still reading, the most important thing you can do is make an exhaustive attempt at securing a policy that has underwriting. We’ve been over this, so we won’t go into great detail how this benefits you.
In short, you’ll get far more coverage for each dollar spent, and your coverage will not come with a 2-3 year waiting period.
Consult with an independent life insurance agency that represents at least 15 different insurance companies (the more the better). Let them shop your case among all the various insurance carriers they represent to see if any of them will accept the health issues you deal with.
Please note that it’s incredibly important that you work with an independent agency. Do not work with a captive insurance company . This is especially true if you deal with some high risk health conditions.
Insider Tip:A captive insurance company is any insurance company that does not allow their agents to sell insurance for any other company but them.
For example, State Farm and Farmers insurance are two very well known captive insurance companies. If you talk to a State Farm agent, they can only sell you insurance from State Farm. They cannot see if another life insurance company can approve you and offer you a better deal.
Lots of life insurance companies design their underwriting to excel at covering certain health risks. This is why working with an independent agency is so detrimental to your success. Whatever health issues you deal with, your agency must be free to shop around to find the insurers that cater to your specific health profile.
If you give an independent agency an earnest opportunity to get you into an underwritten policy, they very likely will be successful in doing so.
Here’s What You Do If You Can’t Qualify For An Underwritten Plan (Very Rare)
At this point, a GI policy is appropriate. The only thing you must figure out is which company will offer you the lowest price.
Remember, virtually all other factors are identical. The only meaningful difference is the monthly rate.
You can scroll back up and compare rates from those 10 guaranteed issue life insurance companies. Your cheapest plan will be with one of them. More specifically, it will either be Mutual of Omaha, Gerber Life, or AIG.
We’ve checked the numbers and they are all the lowest priced for various ages. Once you identify which company will offer you the lowest price, sign up asap so you can start working through the inevitable waiting period.
Choice Mutual is an independent life insurance agency that focuses on helping folks find affordable permanent coverage to ensure end of life costs are all taken care of. We work with over 15 companies, so that we can compare rates to find you the best deal.
Over 90% of our clients are approved for coverage that has underwriting which means no waiting periods. If you are considering guaranteed life insurance, please call us first. We will work hard to try to secure you coverage that offers an immediate death benefit and costs substantially less.
In the event you want or need guaranteed acceptance coverage, we can still help you set that up with whichever carrier is cheapest for you.
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