Life and protection
Over 50s Life Insurance Comparison
guaranteed acceptance cover with no health questions, and what you give up for it
A whole of life plan offered without health questions to people in a set age range. It pays a fixed sum on death, the premiums stay level, and a waiting period applies at the start during which only the payments are returned.
- No health questions
- Fixed premiums
- A waiting period applies
- FCA authorised and regulated
Quick answerAn over 50s plan accepts you without health questions or a medical, pays a fixed sum whenever you die, and keeps the premiums level. Those are real advantages if health makes ordinary cover difficult. The trade-offs are equally real: a waiting period at the start, a modest amount of cover, and the possibility of paying in more than the plan pays out. Tell us the age and what the money is for, and specialist UK brokers can come back with quotes.
In good health and want more cover? Our life insurance comparison page covers the wider market.
At a glance
Over 50s Plans: Six Things to Weigh
Six things to understand before taking a guaranteed acceptance plan.
- Acceptance is guaranteed
- No medical and no health questions
- A waiting period applies
- Premiums back, not the sum assured
- The premiums are fixed
- They do not rise as you age
- The cover is modest by design
- These are not large sums
- You could pay in more than it pays
- Especially if you live a long time
- It is not a funeral plan
- It pays cash, it does not buy a funeral
The basics
What You Get and What You Give Up
The bargain is simple and worth stating plainly. You are accepted whatever your health, and in return the cover is modest, nothing is paid for a period at the start, and the payments may continue for a long time.
Guaranteed acceptance
Within the plan’s age range.
The waiting period
How long, and what is paid inside it.
The premium
Fixed, and whether it ever stops.
The sum assured
Fixed from the outset.
What the money is for
A funeral, or something left behind.
Who receives it
Named people, or a trust.
How it works
Getting Over 50s Cover Arranged
The process is short, because these plans ask no health questions at all. Age and the amount of cover do nearly all the work.
Tell us the age
It is the main thing these plans are priced on.
Say what the money is for
A funeral, or something left behind.
Say what the cover is for
Funeral costs, a gift to family, clearing small debts or simply peace of mind.
Compare the plans
Waiting period, premiums and what is paid.
What it covers
What an Over 50s Plan Pays Out
A fixed cash sum on death, with very little else attached. The interesting parts are the opening period and what happens to the payments over time.
| Section | Where it sits | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Death at any age | The whole point | There is no term to outlive |
| The opening period | A waiting period applies | Usually premiums back, not the sum assured |
| Accidental death | Often covered from day one | The usual exception to the waiting period |
| Fixed premiums | Standard on these plans | They do not rise with age |
| Acceptance without questions | The defining feature | No medical and no health questions |
| A funeral benefit option | Sometimes offered | Paid to a funeral provider instead |
| Written in trust | An arrangement, not a section | Decides who receives the money |
Read the waiting period first. It is the one feature that surprises families, because a death soon after the plan starts usually returns the premiums paid rather than the sum assured. Accidental death is normally the exception.
What it leaves out
What These Plans Will Not Do
These plans are deliberately straightforward, which makes what they do not do easy to set out. The waiting period is the part worth reading twice.
Death within the waiting period
Premiums are usually returned instead.
A plan that has lapsed
Stop paying and the cover stops.
Anything beyond the sum assured
These plans are modest by design.
Costs a funeral plan would cover
They are different products.
Illness benefits of any kind
This pays on death, nothing else.
Anything other than death
These plans carry no illness or injury benefits.
How the plans differ
Where Over 50s Plans Differ From Each Other
They look almost identical in the advertising, so the differences are worth finding before rather than after.
Length of the waiting period
It is not the same everywhere.
Whether premiums ever stop
Some end at a set age, some do not.
Any increase over time
A few plans add to the sum assured.
A funeral benefit option
Paid to a provider instead.
The age range accepted
Both ends of it.
What happens if you stop paying
Some offer a reduced arrangement.
Want cover assessed on health instead? See life insurance comparison.
Who it suits
Who These Plans Actually Suit
They suit a narrower group than the advertising suggests, and they suit that group very well.
People refused ordinary cover
Where health rules it out.
People wanting a modest fixed sum
For a funeral, mostly.
People who want no questions asked
Simplicity has a value.
People with no other cover
Something rather than nothing.
People comparing for a parent
Often the person doing the research.
People wanting fixed payments
Budgeting certainty.
In reasonable health? Compare against ordinary life cover before deciding.
A plan or a funeral plan
An Over 50s Plan vs a Prepaid Funeral Plan
These are constantly confused and they are not the same product. One pays money; the other buys a funeral.
| Over 50s plan | Funeral plan | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A cash sum | The funeral itself |
| Who decides how it is used | Whoever receives it | Fixed at the outset |
| If costs rise | The sum stays the same | Usually covered by the plan |
| Paid to | The people you named | The funeral provider |
Comparing the wider market? See life insurance comparison.
Cost
What Decides the Payment on These Plans
Age and the amount of cover, and very little else. We do not print average premiums.
Why age is almost the only question
With no health questions asked, an insurer has age and the sum assured to work with and not much more. That is what makes these plans quick to arrange and why the price moves so sharply with each year that passes.
Why the long view matters here
Because the premiums usually continue for life, the total paid depends entirely on how long you live. A plan that stops the payments at a set age behaves quite differently from one that does not, and that is worth comparing directly.
What the quote is rated on
The main factors
- AgeAt the start of the planBase
- Sum assuredThe fixed amount chosenRate
- Waiting periodSet by the planTerms
- Premium arrangementWhether payments ever stopTerms
- Options takenFuneral benefit and similarAdjust
Compare the waiting periods
They are not all the same.
Ask when the payments stop
If they ever do.
Check the age limits
At both ends.
The conditions
Four Things to Be Clear On Before You Start
There is not much to meet on an over 50s plan, which is the appeal. What there is, though, is worth knowing before rather than after.
Keep the payments going
Stopping usually ends the plan with no value.
Understand the waiting period
It applies from the start, not from the first claim.
Tell your family the plan exists
Unclaimed policies are commoner than you would think.
Make sure the payment stays affordable
These plans run for a very long time.
Quote checklist
What You Need to Compare These Plans
There is very little to gather for an over 50s plan, which is the point of it.
The age of the person covered
The age of the person being covered.
How much is wanted
These plans are modest by design.
What the money is for
A funeral, or something left behind.
Whether premiums stop at an age
Some plans do, some do not.
The waiting period offered
How long it runs and what is paid inside it.
Who should receive it
And whether a trust suits.
Comparing
Two Over 50s Plans, Compared Honestly
These plans look almost identical from the outside. The differences are here.
The opening period
- How long the waiting period runs
- What is paid if death occurs inside it
- Whether accidental death is treated differently
The money
- Whether premiums are fixed for good
- Whether payments stop at a set age
- What the plan pays and to whom
On this cover specifically
- Length of the waiting period
- Whether premiums stop at an age
- What happens if payments stop
Ask what happens if you stop paying in ten years. On many plans the answer is nothing comes back. Unfamiliar terms are explained in our plain English jargon guide.
Cutting costs
Getting Better Value From These Plans
The levers are comparing the waiting periods, checking when payments stop and being realistic about affordability. We publish no savings figures.
Compare waiting periods
The shortest is not always best value.
Look for a payment end age
It caps what you pay in.
Check ordinary cover first
If health allows it.
Take only the cover you need
These are meant to be modest.
Tell the family it exists
Unclaimed plans are common.
Ask about a trust
It costs nothing to arrange.
Glossary
Over 50s Plans in Plain English
The words that come up once health questions are taken out of the picture.
- Guaranteed acceptance
- Cover offered without health questions or a medical.
- Waiting period
- The opening spell when only premiums are returned, not the sum assured.
- Accidental death cover
- The usual exception, covered from the first day.
- Sum assured
- The fixed amount the plan pays out.
- Fixed premiums
- Payments that stay the same rather than rising with age.
- Premium cessation age
- The age at which payments stop while cover continues, on some plans.
- Whole of life
- Cover with no end date, which is what these plans are.
- Funeral benefit option
- An arrangement paying a funeral provider rather than the estate.
- Lapsed plan
- A plan whose payments have stopped, usually with nothing paid back.
- Written in trust
- An arrangement setting out who receives the money and often speeding payment.
Why MyMoneyComparison.com
Why Over 50s Compare Cover Through MyMoneyComparison.com
MyMoneyComparison.com is an FCA-authorised UK comparison service that introduces families to specialist brokers. We do not sell insurance and we do not give advice: the broker you choose arranges the policy. Using us is free.
One form, one enquiry
Describe what you need once, instead of repeating yourself to each broker.
Advice given
We are an introducer, not a broker. We do not sell policies and we do not recommend one insurer or product over another. Read our editorial policy.
Authorised and regulated
MyMoneyComparison.com Ltd appears on the FCA register under FRN 916241.
Incorporated
A UK company since 2013. FCA authorisation is separate and later; the register carries its date.
FAQs
Over 50s Life Insurance Comparison FAQs
Answers on guaranteed acceptance, the waiting period, fixed premiums and funeral plans.
Am I definitely accepted?
On a guaranteed acceptance plan, yes, provided you fall inside the age range the plan is open to. No medical is required and no health questions are asked, which is the whole point of the product.
How long is the waiting period?
It varies between providers, which is one of the few real differences between plans. During it, a death that is not accidental usually returns the premiums paid rather than the sum assured, so compare the length directly.
Do the payments last forever?
On many plans they continue for as long as you live, which is how somebody can pay in more than the plan pays out. Others stop at a set age while the cover carries on, and that difference is worth finding.
Is this better than ordinary life insurance?
Not usually, if your health allows ordinary cover. Underwritten policies generally give far more cover for the same payment. Guaranteed acceptance earns its place where health makes the alternative difficult or impossible.
Will it pay for a funeral?
It pays a cash sum that can be used for one, but it does not buy a funeral or fix its price. A prepaid funeral plan does that. If rising costs are the worry, the two products answer it quite differently.
What if I cannot keep up the payments?
Cover usually ends with nothing to come back, which is why affordability over a long period matters more than the monthly figure today. Some providers offer a reduced arrangement, so ask before stopping.
Can I take one out for my mother or father?
The plan covers the person insured and they have to agree to it and usually apply themselves. Family members frequently do the comparing, which is a different thing from being the applicant.
Does the sum assured ever increase?
On most plans it is fixed from the outset, so its real value falls over the years. A few offer an increasing option at a higher payment, and if the plan is intended to meet a rising cost that is worth asking about.
What makes an over 50s plan different?
Acceptance is guaranteed without health questions or a medical, the premiums are fixed, and the cover runs for the rest of your life rather than for a term. The trade-off is a waiting period at the start and a modest amount of cover.
What is the waiting period?
A spell at the beginning during which the plan returns the premiums paid rather than the sum assured if death occurs. Accidental death is usually the exception and is covered from the first day.
Can I be turned down?
On a guaranteed acceptance plan, no, provided you are within the age range the plan is open to. That is the whole purpose of it, and it is why no health questions are asked.
Could I pay in more than it pays out?
Yes, and it is the point most worth understanding. Premiums continue for life on many plans, so somebody who lives a long time can pay in more than the sum assured. Some plans stop the payments at a set age.
Is this the same as a funeral plan?
No. A funeral plan buys the funeral itself from a provider at an agreed price. An over 50s plan pays a cash sum to whoever you have named, which they can use for a funeral or for anything else.
Do the premiums ever rise?
On these plans they are normally fixed from the outset and stay level. What varies between plans is whether the payments continue for life or stop at a set age, and that is worth comparing directly.
What if I stop paying?
Cover usually ends and there is typically nothing to come back, which is why the payment has to be affordable over a long period rather than just today. Some plans offer a reduced arrangement instead, so ask before stopping.
Can I have more than one plan?
Frequently yes, subject to the limits each provider sets on total cover. Some people build up the amount that way, though it is worth checking whether a single larger plan would do the same job more simply.
Ready when you are
Compare Over 50s Plans Side by Side
Tell us the age and what the money is for. Specialist UK brokers can then come back with quotes. Free to use, with no obligation to buy.
- Guaranteed acceptance plans with fixed premiums
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- FCA authorised and regulated
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About this page
This page explains UK over 50s life insurance: guaranteed acceptance cover with no health questions, how the waiting period works, and the trade-offs that come with it. It is general information rather than advice. Policies differ between insurers, so read your own documents and put the questions raised here to your insurer or broker.
How we approached this page
- Published UK over 50s plan summaries
- Guaranteed acceptance, waiting periods and premium arrangements
- Financial Ombudsman material on motor insurance complaints