If you’re reading this blog post from heaven then it’s likely too late for you to buy life insurance. For the rest of us enjoying planet earth when does it become too late to buy a life insurance policy? In this article I’ll explore this question from a couple of different angles - addressing age, health, and financial needs as reasons it might be too late to buy a policy.
My inspiration for this blog post was from an article I read online where someone asked Dave Ramsey when is it too late to buy life insurance. Dave answered that life insurance can get expensive above age 70 and that you shouldn’t need life insurance if you have been saving your entire life. Unfortunately for many seniors that isn’t quite the case. Many are still working, and want to have life insurance to protect their spouse or to cover final expenses. This brings us back to our original question - at what age does it become too expensive to buy a policy? I’ve sold life insurance to people all the way until age 79. Once you get into your 80s you are more limited on the type of insurance you can buy and the cost for that coverage is high, even if you are healthy. If you are healthy and you are in your 70s you can still get small term life policy for a reasonable price. For example a 70 year old male would be pay about $113.00 a month for a $50,000 10 year term policy. You can also buy smaller final expense policies that can be affordable if you are in good health.
Unfortunately some people look for life insurance when it’s too late. For example today I had a conversation with a 40 year old man who was 
diagnosed with systemic lupus just last month. In this case most life insurance companies would postpone approving for coverage until it has been 12 months from the time of diagnosis, because they want to see the effects of the condition on his health. In this case this person is too late in trying to get coverage, however they will have more option 11 months from now.
Other cases that I see often are children who are looking for burial policies for their parents. Many times I get calls when it’s too late to buy a policy. For example, I might get a call from a son whose 83 year old mother has been diagnosed with cancer. Getting a guaranteed issue policy is possible with most companies until age 80 and some until age 85, but the pricing can be high for a small policy. This is another case when it’s too late to buy life insurance.
Anytime someone may suffer an economic loss due to your death, and assuming you care about that person, it’s a good time to look into buying life insurance. The earlier you buy a policy the less potential issues you will have in getting the best rates. Despite this, life insurance needs can come up while you are young, or if you are a senior in your 60s or 70s. Most people overestimate how much a term life insurance policy can cost - it’s much cheaper than you think.