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Life Insurance for Seniors
Life Insurance for Seniors
Written by
Madeline Pettet
Edited by
Ellie Garran
Reviewed by
Adrian BennettEasily compare life insurance quotes
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Can Australian seniors take out life insurance?
Long story short
Older Australians might be eligible for a range of life insurance products
This could include term life insurance, income protection, total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance, and trauma insurance.
Life doesn’t end at 60; you could still want the protection of a life insurance policy
For instance, you might still work and want to protect that income, or you might want to ease the financial burden on loved ones if you pass away.
Unique factors, like your age, health, and gender are often used to determine your premium cost
Using this info and more, the life insurer sets your premium, decides exclusions, and adds any loadings.
Important
Seniors’ life insurance isn’t a specific type of life insurance policy. Rather than focusing on your stage of life, life insurance policies are defined by what events they’re there to help you and your loved ones with, like if you were to become totally and permanently disabled or were unable to work for a time.
Can Australian seniors take out life insurance?
Your eligibility for life insurance depends on a life insurer’s assessment of you, including how old you are. Most life insurance policies have a maximum entry age and an expiration age. Depending on the life insurance company and the type of policy, the maximum entry age can be as young as 59 years old, with cover becoming more limited as you get older. It can be hard to find a life insurance policy without an expiry age of 99 years or thereabouts.
As part of your application process, the life insurer might ask you to have a medical exam. This helps them check a few different health factors. They’ll use this info to decide whether they’re happy to insure you, and whether they’ll add any exclusions or other fine print when underwriting your life insurance.
Why take out life insurance if I’m over 60?
Chances are you’ve spent most of your life working to get to where you are today. Whether you’re still on the payroll or enjoying your well-earned retirement, it could be worth considering life insurance if you’ve got a mortgage or other unpaid debts.
Ultimately, life insurance can help to secure your financial future and provide peace of mind that if something were to happen to you, you could continue to enjoy your current lifestyle.
For example, if you’re still working, income protection insurance could mean you still receive a percentage of your regular income if you become unable to work due to an injury.
Similarly, if the worst were to happen and you were no longer here, having a life insurance policy could mean your loved ones are supported. For instance, some life insurance policies come with cover for funeral expenses (this is different from funeral insurance) as well as a larger lump sum to help look after your family.
You might have previously had protections like these through your superannuation and the default life insurance your fund offers, but these policies can be more limited.
Helpful tip
Many term life insurance policies usually don’t have any waiting periods (although there could still be exclusions and eligibility rules). This means you might be able to claim on a policy immediately. Then, if the claim is approved, the beneficiaries can receive the life insurance payout sooner.
For instance, if you were to pass away, your beneficiary could make a claim and receive a lump sum soon after your death. Alternatively, if you were to receive a terminal diagnosis and your term life insurance policy included that coverage, you might be able to make a claim and receive the payout yourself. Either way, the lack of waiting periods and quicker financial support could provide you and your loved ones with a little breathing room to grieve and manage this difficult time.
Adrian Bennett
General Manager for General Insurance
What types of life insurance can seniors get in Australia?
There are many flavours of life insurance that Australian seniors might be eligible for.
Term life insurance
Also known as death cover, this cover provides a lump sum payment in the event you pass away or are diagnosed with a terminal illness, depending on the terms of your policy and insurer.
Critical illness or trauma insurance
This is a lump sum payment to assist with medical, rehabilitation, and other living expenses if you’re diagnosed with a specific serious illness.
Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance
With this type of life insurance cover, you could receive a lump sum payment if you suffer a total and permanent disability.
Income protection insurance
This type of policy covers a specific portion of your income if you can’t work due to an illness or injury.
If you take out one or more of these kinds of life insurance policies, they may also come with additional features. These could be things like:
- a lump sum payment if your child dies or suffers a serious illness or injury
- benefits for grief counselling services
- additional cover without premium increases if you maintain your policy for a set period
- an option to fast-track some of the lump sum payout to help cover funeral costs.
Of course, it’s important to check the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) to see the policy terms and features.
Many senior life insurance policies also allow you to tailor them by choosing your benefit or cover amount. While you certainly can’t put a price on your life and the impact you have on those around you, picking a benefit amount lets you have some control over how your insurance policy will ultimately support you and/or your loved ones.
You can typically set a benefit amount from $100,000 up to $5,000,000. As nice as a higher benefit can seem, it does usually come with a higher premium.
How much does life insurance cost for seniors?
As a senior, there are a number of specific factors that affect your life insurance premium. The older you are, the higher your insurance premiums are likely to be. It’s not just a tax on how many birthdays you’ve celebrated. It’s to ensure your insurance premium reflects the increasing likelihood of you developing health problems as you age. And the insurers aren’t just picking on you; everyone gets this treatment.
But your age isn’t the only factor an insurer will use to decide on your premium. They’ll also take into account the following (and more):
- your current health status
- your smoking status
- your gender
- your previous medical history.
If you have a pre-existing medical condition (and statistically most of us will by age 65), this could also impact your life insurance premiums.
Some conditions could be excluded from your policy altogether, meaning any claims related to that condition won’t be accepted. Alternatively, a pre-existing condition could add a loading to your premium. It’s essentially an extra amount on top of the premium you’d have otherwise.
To give you an idea of how life insurance premiums can change based on your age, we’ve created two fictional friends: Barbara and Louis. The table below shows how much Barbara’s and Louis’ monthly premiums would be for a term life insurance policy, depending on their age when they first took out the policy. Both Barbara and Louis call Victoria home, are retired, and don’t smoke. They also chose variable premiums for their policies, opted for a $500,000 lump sum, and don’t have additional loadings added to their premiums.
What could monthly term life insurance premiums look like for seniors?
| Age they entered the policy | Barbara (female) | Louis (male) |
| 60 | $128 | $188 |
| 65 | $274 | $424 |
| 70 | $635 | $965 |
Note: There are specific estimates for fictional scenarios. Figures provided by Lifebroker and are based on the lowest available premium from a range of plans and providers, rounded to the nearest whole dollar. These were calculated on 8 January 2026. Your premium may be different.
What are some factors seniors should consider when choosing a life insurance policy?
Now that you have a bit more life experience under your belt, chances are your priorities have changed compared to when you were younger. Similarly, there’s a good chance you’ve got different concerns that could affect your life insurance needs. Taking these into consideration could help you narrow down a life insurance policy you like.
Do you financially support someone?
If your children have long since left the nest, you might not need to account for them as much in your insurance as you might have when they were still growing up. But adult children can rely on their parents still, even if they aren’t technically dependents anymore.
For instance, you might help look after the grandchildren so your kids can keep daycare costs down. In choosing a life insurance benefit amount, you might want to think about the financial value of this support.
Similarly, if you have a partner you help care for, it would make sense to consider the costs to help maintain their current standard of living.
What are your financial goals, and what would help you support your lifestyle?
Whether you’ve clocked out of work for good or still take part in the nine-to-five routine, it can help to think about life insurance as a way to maintain your lifestyle and protect your retirement savings, rather than an income replacement. After a lifetime of hard work, life insurance can give you peace of mind that unexpected events won’t capsize all your plans.
When does the policy expire?
You know yourself and your goals best. You might have a time in mind when you’d be comfortable saying goodbye to that extra protection life insurance can offer, possibly replacing it with short-term support options.
Where can I find and compare life insurance for seniors?
At iSelect, we’ve partnered with Lifebroker to make it easy to compare a range of life insurance options from different life insurers. We’ll do the legwork so you can get back to enjoying what makes life worth living. All you need to do is use our handy online comparison tool.
Easily compare life insurance quotes
Save time and effort by comparing life insurance from a range of policies and providers with iSelect’s trusted partner Lifebroker
iSelect’s partnered with Lifebroker (AFS Licence number: 400209) to help you compare a range of Life Insurance policies. iSelect earns a commission from Lifebroker for each customer referred through the website or contact centre. Lifebroker do not compare all life insurers or policies in the market.
iSelect Life Pty Ltd – ABN 89 124 304 347, AFS Licence Number 331128. Any advice provided by iSelect is of a general nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You need to consider the appropriateness of any information or general advice iSelect gives you, having regard to your personal situation, before acting on iSelect’s advice or purchasing any policies. You should consider iSelect’s Financial Services Guide which provides information about iSelect services and your rights as a client of iSelect.’