Martin Lewis Over 50s Life Insurance Review 2026

What Does Martin Lewis Say About Over 50s Life Insurance?

Over 50s Life Insurance gets a bad press off certain money saving experts, and Martin Lewis is certainly no different when it comes to opinions on this particular insurance product. There are lots of reasons why many experts aren’t so keen on over 50s life insurance, but the fact remains that these policies do have its place and it can be a good fit for some people.

When you search for Over 50s life insurance on Google, it’s likely that you’ll have seen some of the Martin Lewis life insurance over 50s guides. You can take this advice two ways, and many parents may be put these products because of the strong warnings that Mr Lewis issues on this topic, but that’s not always the case if you take a balanced look at over 50s life insurance.

Our latest independent expert guide looks at the latest Martin Lewis guaranteed over 50s life insurance guides for parents to protect their families. These policies can provide financial protection and cover payment for expensive funerals if a parent dies, only after they’re 50th birthday.

Does Martin Lewis recommend Over 50s Life Insurance?

Martin Lewis has some quite strong views on over 50s life insurance, which you may have already seen if you’ve read the Over 50s page on MoneySavingExpert. The content on this page talks a lot about Sun Life over 50s life insurance and some of the high profile celebraties who have featured on these adverts over the years, including the great Sir Michael Parkinson and Carol Vorderman.

In reality, over 50s life insurance is far from a completely harmless and innocent product, but it does have some good points which can work for some parents. These policies can sometimes work out to be a bad decision because they don’t even pay out more than you put in, only in some situations.

There are some caveats which can be taken from what is suggested in the article which you could see if you read between the lines. As Martin Lewis over 50 life insurance guidance says ‘for many they’re a seriously bad bet’, meaning for some that they’re actually not bad, such as for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

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Whats does Martin Lewis life insurance say about over 50 with pre existing medical conditions?

As it illudes to in the Martin Lewis guidance, there are some situations where over 50s life insurance can be beneficial and worthwhile. This is mainly for parents who are over the age of 50 and who have health problems or who have been diagnosed with a pre-existing medical condition (e.g. diabetes, ms, epilepsy, asthma, mental health, cancers, or heart conditions).

This guidance could help some parents to get a guaranteed life insurance policy that could be quicker, easier, and cheaper for them than traditional life cover. There are plenty of circumstances which could make standard life insurance unaffordable or even unavailable for some people.

The main point for these types of circumstances is that an over 50s life insurance policy might just be the only alternative for some individuals, this point needs to be made very clear. In these circumstances, your options might be limited to over 50s life insurance and therefore this should be your main focus when searching for life insurance.

Why is over 50s life insurance better for pre existing medical conditions?

One of the main reasons why an over 50s life insurance policy is more suitable for people with pre existing medical conditions is simply, life expectancy is generally lower. People who live to age 90+ are likely to pay more in than they would generally get out of this type of policy.

Key features of over 50s life insurance

1. No medicals
2. No medical underwriting
3. Premiums not based on health
4. Less questions to answer
5. Better value

People with pre existing medical conditions will usually have a lower life expectancy and therefore a payout would be more than they have paid in.

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How does over 50s life insurance work?

Over 50s life insurance is a cost-effective form of life cover often used for funeral planning (e.g. to cover funeral costs and money is often paid straight to a funeral director).

If you read the Martin Lewis over 50s life insurance guide then you’ll see a lot of references to SunLife over-50s products. You will also hear some quite aggressive wording like ‘scathing’.

Martin Lewis key points about Over 50s Life Insurance

1. Fixed lump sum when you die – the key points here are ‘when you die’ which as it suggests means that payouts are guaranteed. The other point is that you’ll have no link to investment funds which means that there are performance risks.
2. No medicals – as suggested if you are aged between 50 and 85 then you won’t need to answer medical questions or have any medical exams, so acceptance is guaranteed.
3. Monthly premiums from £3.70 – costs and payouts are based on your age and smoker status, so will vary from person to person.
4. No payouts in the first 12 months – most over 50s life insurance policies won’t pay out if you die in the first 12 or 24 months (depending on the provider). Your monthly payments will be repaid and some will pay a small amount on top to account for any interest. The other exception that is pointed out on Martin Lewis over 50s life insurance is, you will be paid out on accidental death in the first 12 months with most policies.

These four points also apply to the vast majority of over 50s life insurance providers and policies but with some slight variations.

Something else that you’ll find on the Martin Lewis life insurance over 50 page is a section called ‘Four problems with the SunLife plan’. There are actually problems with all of these policies as they tend to be similar and the same rules apply across the board.

1) The maths doesn’t add up

This is a great point and as we said earlier, this is why these products tend to be more cost effective for people with pre existing medical conditions or lower life expectancy. If you work on averages then you would almost always pay more in that you would receive in pay outs, but that’s just part of the risk of this policy.

In reality, most of these policies wouldn’t be cost effective for the majority of fit and healthy adults over 50. BUT, we can’t predict what might happen in the future and this is another gamble like most insurance policies.

Loads of policies would end up paying out less than is paid in but you may also be one of those who pays in less.

Note: Over 50’s life insurance is better for people who die younger or those with a lower life expectancy. If you don’t feel that this type of product is right for you then we wouldn’t advise you to buy a policy.

2) You’ll be locked in

Martin Lewis life insurance over 50 also mentions a very interesting story about an episode of Watchdog on BBC One which featured a film made by Mr Lewis. This feature included a story about Mary Vickers who was 84 years of age and had 2 SunLife over-50s plans with a combined payout of £2,710. Mrs Vickers had already paid £3,700 in to the policies and was required to continue to pay £22 until she died to get anything back.

Note: We understand that this story was a major exposé for the over 50s life insurance market and gave a great insight in to how these policies work. It’s genuinely awful to hear of consumers in this situation and we applaud Martin Lewis for his efforts to expose these kinds of issues.

3) Missed premiums mean no payout

This is a bit of an exaggeration and doesn’t actually apply to most over 50s life insurance policies any more. The reality is that most, if not all over 50s policies will usually allow you 3 or 6 months to make up any missed payments (check policy wording carefully).

We’re also aware that MoneySavingExpert.com helped a lady in a similar situation with an AXA over 50s life insurance policy. We believe that the policy paid out in the end and that the claim was successful which is a fantastic piece of work by MSE.

4) Inflation proof payouts

One of the big changes in the life insurance market in recent years is the introduction of indexation. Indexation gives policyholders the option to increase benefits with inflation (roughly). Over 50s life insurance generally don’t have the same options to protect against inflation. You’ll need to take in to consideration that your pay out will be worth less in 20 or 30 year’s time.

There are currently only a handful of inflation proof over 50s life insurance products that are available (e.g. Sainsbury’s Bank over 50s life insurance). You still need to check to make sure that this is the best value as even with indexation, this might still be more expensive..

How to complain about over 50s life insurance

One of the key points about MoneySavingExpert.com is providing support to people who are treated unfairly or mis-sold financial products.

Martin Lewis life insurance over 50 guide is no exception and you’ll find some very useful information about complaints procedures. As with any financial services products, you have standard consumer rights which are backed by the Financial Ombudsman Service and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

There are several key areas where you might want to make a complaint about over 50 life insurance, including:

• Poor customer service
• Mis-selling
• Bad advice
• Payment problems
• Claims procedures

As with any complaint, you are always advised to reach out to your insurance provider in the first instance to give them the opportunity to resolve your issue. If you don’t feel that the outcome is satisfactory then you have the right to escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsmen Service (FOS).

How to buy the best over 50s life insurance

It’s important to make sure that you make a good decision on this before you commit to an over 50s life insurance policy that is more expensive or bad value for money.

We’ve carefully selected a small panel of over 50 life insurance providers that offer good value cover and benefits. It is important to compare several providers and products to make sure that you’re getting good value for money. Often you will be able to save money and get a great level of cover by speaking to an expert.

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Find the right cover to protect you and your family. Compare quotes from some of the UK’s leading Life Insurance brands.