Term Insurance for Senior Citizens in 2025

What is the Term Plan for Senior Citizens?

Term insurance for senior citizens is a term insurance policy especially designed to cover the financial dependents of older individuals. These plans provide your family with the death benefit in case of your untimely demise during the policy term, which can be used to pay off outstanding debts or expenses like funeral costs. With these term plans for senior citizens, you get a fixed policy term, which can be chosen depending on a senior citizen's current age and retirement age.

List of the Best Term Insurance for Senior Citizens in India 2025^~

Now that we have understood what is term plan for senior citizens, here is a list of best term insurance for senior citizens available in India in 2025 that you can purchase to secure your loved ones.

*Disclaimer: ^~Top 5 plans based on annualized premium for bookings made on https://www.policybazaar.com in the first 6 months of FY 24-25. Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by any insurer. The list of plans listed here comprise of insurance products offered by all the insurance partners of Policybazaar. For complete list of insurers in India refer to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India website www.irdai.gov.in

Why is Term Insurance Important for Senior Citizens in India?

Term insurance for senior citizens is the ideal type of life insurance for individuals who want to ensure a long term financial protection of their loved ones with a large life cover at affordable premiums. These plans pay out the benefit amount to your family in case of your unfortunate demise during the policy term. Let us take a look at some of the key reasons why term insurance is important for senior citizens:

• Financial Security

  With term insurance for 60 year old, you can retire peacefully that even in your absence, your family will be financially protected and will be able to take care of their financial needs and liabilities. 

• Flexible Benefit Payout

  Term insurance for seniors offers various flexible benefit payout options like monthly installments, lump sum payouts, monthly income + lump sum benefits, and increasing monthly payouts. You can choose the payout option that fits the needs of your dependents the best.

• Whole Life Coverage

  The whole life insurance coverage allows term insurance for senior citizens to cover their family until the policyholder turns 99/100 years of age. This ensures guaranteed coverage for your family and creates a legacy for your family in your absence.

• Income Replacement

  Senior citizens who are still providing an income to the family, may end up leaving the family without any financial aid. The income replacement term plans, helps your family replace your income in your absence.

What are the Features of Term Insurance for Senior Citizens? 

Here is a list of all the features of term life insurance for senior citizens in India 2025:

1. Age Limit

   The minimum term insurance age limit for most of the term plans is 18 years, whereas the maximum age at entry of the policy varies from insurer to insurer. However, in most term plan for senior citizens, the maximum entry age ranges from 55 years to 65 years. Moreover, the maximum maturity age of the policy can go up to 99/100 years.

2. Death Benefit/Life Cover

   As term insurance for senior citizens is a pure protection plan, only the death benefit is offered to the family in case of the unfortunate demise of the life assured during the policy's tenure. However, suppose a person has purchased TROP (Term Return of Premium Plan), in that case, the entire premium paid during the policy's tenure, is returned to the life assured at the time of maturity of the policy.

3. Premium Payable

   The term life insurance for senior citizens remains active for as long as the premiums are regularly paid. Although term insurance is the most affordable type of life insurance, the term insurance for 60 year old premium can be slightly higher than of those of a younger age.

4. Medical Test

   While purchasing term insurance for senior citizens, the insurance buyer may need to take a medical test so that the insurance provider can make sure that the policy buyer does not suffer from any pre-existing medical condition. If the life assured does not undergo any medical test, he/she will have to provide a declaration of being healthy to the insurer. One should not hide any facts related to his/her health when purchasing a suitable term life insurance for senior citizens.

5. Riders/Add-ons 

   Various important term insurance riders are offered under the term insurance plans for senior citizens to enhance the term insurance policy coverage. The riders offered by the insurer may vary from plan to plan. The policyholder can purchase the add-on rider by paying an extra premium for the policy.

What are the Benefits of Term Insurance for Senior Citizens?

Here is a list of senior citizens' term plan benefits in India:

1. Family’s Security for Children

   If something happens to you, the term insurance sum assured can support your children in pursuing their preferred education and career paths. It also ensures that a lack of financial resources never comes in the way of fulfilling their dreams and ambitions. Their family can also use the term plan benefit amount to pay their rent and child’s fees and cover other monthly expenses.

2. Financial Independence for Spouse

   In case of unforeseen events in life like life assured death, the death benefit can save your spouse from the hassle of looking for a new income source during their old age. The coverage amount can help them lead a desired life without having to depend on anyone else financially.
   The maturity payout received from TROP plans can help provide the financial stability required in the absence of the monthly income post-retirement.

3. Fulfil Financial Goals

   Your family can use the benefit amount from term insurance plans for senior citizens to fulfill their financial goals in your absence, like paying for the child’s higher education or wedding.

4. Pay off Loans and Liabilities

   In case you have taken any student, business, or other loans, your family might be burdened trying to pay off the remaining debt in your absence. The death benefit amount can help them take care of such liabilities.

5. Create a Legacy

   With term insurance for senior citizens, you can create a legacy for future generations in your absence. You can buy whole life insurance to ensure guaranteed financial benefits for your family in the event of your unfortunate absence.

6. Enhancement of Life Cover

   Life cover of the term life insurance for senior citizens can be enhanced with riders like critical illness, hospicare, terminal illness, accidental death, accidental total and permanent disability, and waiver of premium riders. You can also enhance the life cover using the life stage benefits at different milestones like marriage, childbirth, or home loans.

7. Tax Saving Benefits

   You can claim term insurance tax benefits under sections 80C, 80D, and 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as per the prevailing tax laws.

How to Choose Term Insurance for Senior Citizens in India?

Let us take a look at the points to keep in mind while selecting term insurance for senior citizens in India:

1. Select Suitable Life Cover

   While selecting suitable term insurance plans for senior citizens, you need to ensure that you opt for the right life cover. This is because this amount will be paid to your family in your absence. Thus, you should make sure that the life cover is enough to cover their financial needs in your absence.

2.  Check the Claim Settlement Ratio

   The CSR of the company gives us an insight into the company’s claim settlement capabilities in the past year. Therefore, you should always opt for a term life insurance for senior citizens from a company with a high CSR ratio of over 95%.

3. Add Relevant Riders

   Adding the relevant riders can enhance the base cover of your term insurance for senior citizens at nominal premiums. Hence, it is suggested that you go through the list of available riders and add the relevant riders to the base term life insurance for senior citizens.

Eligibility Criteria for Term Life Insurance for Senior Citizens

Here are the eligibility conditions you need to follow before buying a term life insurance for senior citizens in India:

Age

Most term insurance companies allow people up to the age of 60 or 65 years to buy term insurance. However, some plans offer coverage up to 99 or even 100 years. As you get older, the cost of premiums increases because the risk to the insurer also goes up.

Some insurers offer special term insurance for seniors with flexible age limits. Therefore, it’s always good to check the age requirements of the plan before buying.

Citizenship

Term insurance for senior citizens in India is mainly offered to Indian residents. NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) can also buy term insurance for NRI, but they need to provide documents like:

• Proof of Indian citizenship

• Valid passport

• Proof of their foreign residence

Foreign citizens may not be eligible, unless they have OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) or PIO (Person of Indian Origin) status. However, it is suggested that you check with your insurer on the specific eligibility conditions for different term life insurance for senior citizens.

Medical Test

Most life insurance companies may require you to undergo a list of medical check-up for term insurance before issuing a policy to senior citizens. These tests may include:

• Blood sugar and cholesterol levels

• Blood pressure

• ECG and other age-related tests

The test results help the insurer decide the premium and level of coverage. Some insurers may offer term insurance without medical tests, but those usually come with higher premiums and lower coverage.

If you have a pre-existing illness, the insurer might include a waiting period or exclude certain conditions. Taking a medical test gives you better coverage and avoids problems at the time of claim.

Coverage Options in Term Life Insurance for Senior Citizens

These are the following types of coverage options are available with term insurance for senior citizens in India:

Endless Coverage (Whole Life Cover)

Some plans offer coverage till the age of 99 or 100 years, instead of a fixed term. These are also called whole-life term insurance plans. In these plans, your family will receive the payout whenever you pass away.

This is helpful if you want to leave financial support for your family. However, such term plan benefits usually come with high premium costs, so make sure it fits your budget.

Term Return of Premium (TROP)

In this type of plan, if you outlive the policy term, the insurance company returns all the premiums you paid. This means you get back your money if no claim is made.

This is a good option for seniors who want both protection and financial return. But remember, these plans are more expensive than regular term insurance.

Extra Protection with Riders

You can make your term insurance for seniors stronger by adding riders for additional benefits. Some useful term insurance riders include:

• Critical Illness Rider: This rider pays a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer or heart disease

• Accidental Death Benefit: This term rider pays an extra payout if death is caused by an accident during the policy term

• Waiver of Premium: With this term insurance rider, the insurer waives off your remaining premium payments if you lose your job

These term insurance riders make your policy more complete. They come at an extra cost, but they offer better financial protection during emergencies.

Riders Available With Term Insurance for Senior Citizens

Here is a list of all the important term insurance riders available with term life insurance for senior citizens in India:

1. Accidental Death Benefit

   This rider provides an additional amount on top of the base sum assured of the term life insurance for senior citizens on the accidental death of the policyholder during the policy term.

2. Terminal Illness Benefits

   On the diagnosis of a terminal illness, the insurer will pay a part or the entire life cover in advance to help take care of the hefty medical bills and seek top-class treatments.

3. Accidental Total Permanent Disability

   Under this term insurance for senior citizens riders, the additional amount will be offered to the life assured in case of an accidental total permanent disability during the policy term.

4. Critical Illness Benefits

   In case the policyholder is diagnosed with a critical illness covered under the term insurance for senior citizens, the insurer will pay the rider sum assured to help cover the treatment costs.

5. Waiver of Premium Benefits

   On the diagnosis of a critical illness or accidental total permanent disability, if the policyholder suffers a job loss, the insurer will waive off all the term life insurance for senior citizens premiums.

Things To Consider While Buying Term Life Insurance for Senior Citizens

Here are the list of things you need to consider before buying the best term insurance for senior citizens in India 2025:

• Premium amount increases by Age

  The premium amount you pay always increases with age to cover the life risk due to health conditions and illnesses. However, term plan for senior citizen also provides high amount of coverage, which can help protect your family without having any financial unpredictabilities.

• Documentation and Medical Check-ups

  Various life insurance plans offer the benefit of medical check-ups and documentation for term insurance for senior citizens without any family medical history or health conditions. This may be subject to the insurer's T&Cs.

• Compare Different Plans

  You can buy the best term insurance plan for senior citizens by comparing online different plans through Policybazaar and finding the one plan that suits your needs.

• Choose the Right Insurance Company

  Choose a well-known and reliable life insurance company, especially one that offers special term life insurance for senior citizens. Check their claim settlement ratio (how often they pay out claims), their customer reviews, and how long they’ve been in business.

Limitations of Term Life Insurance for Senior Citizens

While term insurance for senior citizens offers peace of mind, there are some limitations you should be aware of:

Age Restrictions

Most life insurance companies have a maximum entry age between 60 and 75 years. After that, it becomes difficult to buy a new term insurance for seniors. Even if available, the policy term may be short and end by the age of 80 to 85 years. Also, term insurance for 60 year old premiums are higher. This is why it’s better to buy term insurance early or look for plans that allow higher age limits for better protection.

No Savings or Investment Benefit

Term insurance does not offer any wealth creation benefits if you outlive the policy. It doesn’t have a savings or investment component like some other life insurance plans. You won’t be able to borrow money from the policy, withdraw funds, or get any maturity value. If you’re looking for a policy that gives you financial benefits even while you’re alive, you might want to explore whole life insurance or retirement annuity plans instead. Therefore, it is suggested that you thoroughly understand the difference between term plan and life insurance for senior citizens and how it may affect your financial future.

Why Should You Buy Term Plan For Senior Citizens Early?

Once you understand what is term insurance, it is fairly clear that the premium rate of a term plan increases with age. Not only that, the risk of premiums increasing due to age-related illnesses also increases further as you get older. Thus, if you want to secure a large life cover for your loved ones at affordable premiums, you need to buy a term insurance for senior citizens early.

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