50 years of age not late for term insurance

It is easy to feel a little over the hill by the time you turn 50, especially in this youth-oriented culture. But turning 50 is a landmark in its own way. Not only will this age fill you with opportunities but also will have challenges of its own. The good news is; you'll probably be earning more in your 50s than you did earlier in your career, giving you the financial flexibility. At the same time, you may have more big expenses to deal with such as higher education of your children or their marriage or even planning to buy a new home.

To be honest, there's nothing like buying term insurance in your early 20s as soon as you start earning. In fact, a lot of people prefer buying at this age because the expenses and responsibilities are much lesser and this is the time you look forward to creating a cushion for your loved ones' later years. Also, premiums are much affordable at this phase and will also help you save a lot on taxes. Upon the death of the insured, the policy will pay a sum assured to their nominees whose long-term needs will be taken care of.

On the other hand, retired senior citizens or those on the edge of retirement will also have some financial challenges or liabilities that are far from being settled such as home loan. And also may have dependent family members – parents, spouse and children. Though every term plan has an age eligibility criterion and may vary from one insurance company to the other as do the features of the policy. Nevertheless, if you are in your 50s, you can still buy term insurance for yourself. Here are some broad life situations that will trigger you to buy life insurance even if you are in your 50s.

You have outstanding debts and liabilities

Loan against properties is another expense that tends to eat up a large part of retirees' income. Liabilities such as home loan, loan against property and vehicle loans are generally availed for long tenures. There are generally people who have not saved enough or are servicing debts. Therefore, if you are able to pay off your mortgage in time for your senior years, you will have one less thing to worry about. But there can be a case where you die before paying off the mortgage. This is where term insurance becomes valuable. A term insurance policy can be bought to cover the specific loan amount. In a case where the individual is no longer there, the sum assured can be of use to serve to pay off the outstanding loans without causing any inconvenience to your family members.

Financially dependent children

Let's try to think about life insurance from different perspective. Age has never been the benchmark to buy life insurance, your responsibilities were. The pure life cover is for your family's future needs. Gone are the days when people used to get married by 23 and have kids by the age of 25-28. Nowadays, one of the popular demographics shift is that more and more people delay getting married and at the same time, couples also delay starting a family. So, by the time you turn 50, high chances are that your kids are mostly still studying and may require your financial assistance, hence it is a wise decision to buy term insurance at the age of 50s even at the higher premium. Though, at the same time, it is highly recommended to buy term insurance in your early 20s or 30s to save a lot on premiums.

The writer is chief business officer- Life Insurance, Policybazaar.com