How to Convince Elderly Parents to Purchase Life Coverage?

It is never comfortable to discuss the inevitable death with your parents. We want them to be with us forever, and while they will be in our hearts, their earthly existence is limited. So, when it comes to life insurance for elderly parents, the need for them to have such coverage can bring a little financial peace of mind to you and your family.

Obviously, having life insurance for the elderly is needed when there is no other coverage or financial resources present to cover funeral expenses. If you are unsure if they have already planned for burial expenses, then it would be very important to ask before making any plans.

Do not assume that there is no life coverage for elderly parents as they may have savings or other means that take care of such expenses.

You may be pleasantly surprised that your parents have already taken care of that by having life insurance or other coverage you didn’t know about. Parents can be quite thoughtful in that regard.

However, suppose you find out that there is no coverage. In that case, you will need to start the conversation about getting the proper coverage so that you and your family do not suffer financially and emotionally when losing them.

My Parents Don’t Have Coverage; how Do I Convince Them?

There are steps you can take to start the conversation. In fact, your parents may even be the ones who want to initiate it if they perceive the problem. However, you should not wait for them to start as the unexpected can strike anytime.

• Make a point to see your parents alone without the rest of the family around so you can talk to them personally. Try to make the point by stating your concern about covering their funeral expenses while grieving for their loss.
• Try to keep the perspective on the cost of the funeral itself and that paying for it will soak up a considerable amount of the family’s resources that could be better saved for the children’s future.
• Once the financial burdens of the funeral are explained, the next step should be to convince the parents of life insurance. The tough part is that you are asking them to pay for something from their resources. Even if you promise to pay, the insurance is in their name, and they are responsible.
• You can explain the benefits of life insurance for mother and father by noting that it is a fairly inexpensive way to have the financial resources available for funeral services. They can even tailor the life insurance they purchase to not only pay off any debts they still have but also to leave behind a legacy for the grandchildren to help them attend college if they desire.

Remember, you may not be able to convince them the first time, so you will want to remind them of how important it can be in helping to withhold the burden of funeral expenses from their loved ones when you can while not being overbearing about it.

Hopefully, they will see the value of having life insurance to cover such expenses.

This is indeed a tough task to start a conversation about life insurance with elderly people, especially when they are very old, but discussing this topic in a friendly manner can overcome the gap as well. If the conversation irritates them, avoid continuing the discussion and find another time.