Choosing the best life insurance quotes online involves more than simply finding the cheapest premiums.
Senior men age 65 and over need to ensure that their life insurance provider will be around to pay their death claims. If an insurance company goes bankrupt, older policyholders may be pressured into buying a new life insurance policy or letting their coverage lapse entirely. Both scenarios involve financial pain, since life insurance premiums rise dramatically as applicants grow older just as the need for coverage increases.
So, senior applicants should review the financial strength rating of prospective life insurers. This can be as simple as checking the latest company scores from A.M. Best. That independent rating service regularly assesses the relative ability of a provider to meet its ongoing insurance obligations.
A.M. Best has 6 ratings that indicate a financially secure insurer. These range from the highest (A++) to good (B+). Lower ratings flag vulnerable insurance companies, as follows:
- B, B- … Fair
- C++, C+ … Marginal
- C, C- … Weak
- D … Poor
- E … Under regulatory supervision
- F … In liquidation
- S … Rating suspended.
The analysis below incorporates insurer financial strength ratings. Compared are term life insurance rates for a $500,000 policy charged to a 65-year-old male born on January 1, 1946.
Life insurance costs are 20-year, annual level premiums for a senior male who lives in Beverly Hills, an affluent city in the western part of Los Angeles, California. That is, rates are guaranteed to remain the same each year until the insured reaches age 85.
Based on the zip code for Beverly Hills 90210, the life insurance rate calculator at Term4sale.com provided both the annual premiums and financial strength ratings below.
Senior Life Insurance Premiums from Insurers Rated A++ (Highest)
Three insurance companies with the highest financial strength rating of A++ offered the following life insurance quotes for a $500,000 policy at age 65.
- TIAA-CREF Life Insurance … US$9,516 annual premium for 20 years
- Guardian Life Insurance … $9,890
- Massachusetts Mutual Life … $11,175.
Senior Life Insurance Premiums from Insurers Rated A+ (Superior)
The following 11 life insurers earned A.M. Best’s second-highest rating for financial strength. Only 4 of these companies provide life insurance quotes for a $500,000 at a lower cost than A++ rated TIAA-CREF Life Insurance.
- Ohio National Life … $9,070 annual premium for 20 years
- Lincoln National Life … $9,255
- Transamerica Life … $9,495
- Pruco Life Insurance … $9,515
- Penn Mutual Life … $9,800
- Protective Life … $9,800
- Columbus Life Insurance … $10,050
- Jackson National Life … $10,050
- Minnesota Life … $10,050
- North American Company for Life and Health … $10,140
- Midland National Life … $10,140.
Senior Life Insurance Premiums from Insurers Rated A (Excellent)
The third group of life insurance companies garnered an excellent rating from A.M. Best. Two notches below the A++ score, only 3 of these life insurers quoted annual life insurance premiums less expensive than the $9,516 from TIAA-CREF.
- Union Central Life … $9,075
- Cincinnati Life … $9,425
- ReliaStar Life (ING) … $9,493
- American General Life … $9,789
- Symetra Life … $10,390
- American United Life … $10,610
- Aviva Life and Annuity Company … $10,925
- Hartford Life and Annuity … $11,470
- Genworth Life … $11,570
- Allianz Life … $11,878
- Independent Order of Foresters … $12,323.
Choosing Best Life Insurance for Senior Men
Based on the above quotes, Ohio National Life offers the lowest 20-year premium of $9,070 for $500,000 worth of term life insurance while maintaining a superior A+ financial strength rating.
TIAA-CREF sells the same amount of coverage for a 4.9% higher life insurance premium while offering senior males slightly more peace of mind with its leading A++ financial strength assessment.
Although garnering a respectable A which indicates excellent financial security, the Independent Order of Foresters (IOF) charges an annual premium of $12,323. That yearly charge is:
- $2,086 or 29.5% higher than the life insurance quote from Ohio National Life
- $3,252 or 35.9% higher than the life insurance quote from TIAA-CREF.
Over 20 years, the IOF policyholder will pay over:
- $56,000 more than under an Ohio National Life policy
- $65,000 more than under a TIAA-CREF policy.
Senior men should decide for themselves whether the best life insurance deal means buying from the most financially secure life insurer charging the cheapest life insurance costs.
Daniel Workman - A senior business and finance writer who also does French translations, notably international trade and insurance materials.
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