An over 50s plan is a small whole of life policy sold without underwriting. There are no medical questions and no health assessment: acceptance is guaranteed for UK residents within the age range, usually 50 to 80. The sum assured is modest, the premium is fixed for life, and the policy pays out whenever you die.

Most people buy one to cover a funeral, clear a small debt, or leave a defined gift. It is deliberately simple, and for the right person it does a real job. It is also frequently sold to people for whom it is the wrong answer, which is why the next two sections matter more than the benefits list.

You can pay in more than it pays out. Premiums are fixed but they continue for as long as you live, or until the age premiums cease, commonly 90. Live well into your eighties and the total paid in can exceed the sum assured, sometimes considerably. This is inherent to how guaranteed-acceptance plans are priced, not a hidden catch, but it is the single most important number to look at before signing.

There is an initial period with no full cover. Almost all these plans apply a moratorium, typically the first one or two years, during which death from natural causes does not pay the sum assured. Instead the premiums paid are returned, sometimes with a small addition. Accidental death is normally covered from day one. If you are in poor health now, this period is exactly when it is most likely to matter.

Guaranteed acceptance is valuable precisely because it ignores your health. If your health is reasonable, you are paying for a concession you do not need. An underwritten policy (ordinary term or whole of life cover) will very often provide a considerably larger sum assured for the same monthly premium, with no moratorium.

Answering some health questions takes twenty minutes. It is worth doing before defaulting to a no-questions plan, and we will price both so the difference is visible. Where an over 50s plan genuinely is the better route, we will say that too.