My husband is a smoker and is 51 years old. He is not in the best of health as he is overweight and smokes. Other then that, no other medical problems. I am terminally ill so I can’t get any life insurance but we are raising 3 small grandchildren and we want to make sure that there is something for them to live on in case he dies in the next 10-15 years. We think that term life is the way to go but we don’t know much about life insurance and really would like some information. We don’t have a lot of money so that payment every month needs to be as low as possible and he would prefer to avoid a health check up if possible.
Your husband may not be able to obtain life insurance from a reputable firm due to his age, smoking, and weight. If he is offered insurance, it will only be after a thorough medical examination and at a high cost.
Insurance companies categorize policies by life expectancy. Insurers prefer to initiate policies with customers under 40, who don’t smoke, and have a healthy weight-to-height ratio.
An insurer looks at an overweight, smoking 51-year-old and estimates his life expectancy based on actuarial tables. If your husband does not change his health status, then his projected life expectancy may only be to his mid 60s. An insurer can’t make money on a short contract like that, so they won’t offer him insurance.
The big problem with life insurance, that no one wants to talk about, is that insurers often refuse to pay when the policy holder dies. The insurer will look for inaccurate application statements, omissions of information, and other exits from the contract when it comes time to pay. This is standard practice in the industry.
You may be better off to put the money intended for life insurance into a bank account instead. Open a custodial account in the names of your grandchildren and just save the money for their future use.
Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Hopefully you will prove your doctor wrong.