28 Mar 2024

Can you insure your parents?

Life insurance can of course protect you as a policyholder and by extension your family, but can you take out life insurance for someone else, such as your parents? In this article we explore how life insurance works when it comes to protecting other people.

Extended family in kitchen

You may also be interested in...

Yes, the short answer is that you can get life insurance for your parents, but only if you have an ‘insurable interest’ in them. This means you would have to prove to an insurer that you would face financial hardship if your parents were to die and you would struggle to meet their financial obligations. Here are some common examples of when this might happen:

  • When the costs incurred by parents – such as debt, a mortgage and medical bills – must be repaid by the children.
  • When a surviving parent has care costs that must be paid.
  • The adult child receives financial support from the parents.
  • There is a parent-child business relationship and the death of a parent could cause financial difficulties.

Additionally, the parents must consent before life insurance can be taken out on their behalf. Our application process requires that the person being insured completes the application themselves.

You can’t take out life insurance to insure the life of somebody else without an 'insurable interest'. However, we all automatically have an insurable interest in our own lives. This means that you can take out a life insurance policy on your own life to benefit your parents.

Life insurance is designed to protect your dependants, and that can include parents. Once you've taken out a policy, you can use a trust to choose who receives the cash sum from a successful claim. This could put your mind at rest if you're worried about how your parents would manage without your help. Whether you have concerns about funeral costs, protecting a mortgage or outstanding debts, life insurance policies could help.

How to find the right life insurance for your parents

At some point, your parent or parents might want to discuss their future plans with you, whether it’s discussions about death or what will happen with their finances after they pass away.

While you can’t simply buy life insurance for your parents, you can point them in the direction of various life cover policies to help them decide on the protection they need. Read more about the types of life insurance for senior citizens.

Senior couple in kitchen

In terms of whether your parents need life insurance, here are some of the key factors to consider:

• Do they have any form of life insurance?
• Have they paid off their mortgage?
• Are there any outstanding debts or loans?
• What assets, including property and savings, do they have?
• Is one parent financially dependent on the other?

Even when a mortgage is paid off or the adult children have ‘flown the nest’, life insurance policies can be invaluable if the policyholder has any financial dependants, which could include siblings or grandchildren, for example.

You might not be able to directly insure your parents on their behalf, but the advantage to having these kinds of conversations is they can make sure everyone knows where things stand, highlight any gaps in planning and provide reassurance for the whole family.

Find out more about our Over 50 Life Insurance

Meet our expert
Thomas May

Thomas May

Senior Propositions Manager, Retail Protection, Business, Tax and Trusts

Thomas oversees all tax, trust and business protection matters for our Retail Protection business at Legal & General. Thomas is our senior trust and estate administration expert and leads the development of new products, ensuring they comply with relevant regulations. Thomas joined us in 2006 and has a wealth of experience working across different parts of the business. He’s proud to support good outcomes for customers, particularly at claims stage when our help is most needed.

More about Thomas

Related articles

Discussing your death with loved ones

Discussing your death with loved ones

We approached Dr Lois Tonkin to find out more about how to broach and discuss end of life planning with your loved ones.
consumer - over 50s - IMAGES - wrting a will article list

The importance of writing a will

Writing a will is important in making sure your loved ones inherit your money and assets after you’re gone. But what should you put in a will? Read our guide.
consumer - life-cover - over 50s - IMAGES - executor of will 730 x 411

What are the duties of the executor of a will?

The executor for a will has a range of responsibilities following the death of a friend or family member. Learn more in our Legal & General guide.
Inheritance tax and estate planning

Estate planning

Careful estate planning makes it easier to figure out how to leave a house to someone in a will. For the full picture, read our guide on the best ways to leave money and other assets in a will.
Spending time together with family

What happens to debt when you die?

Not sure what happens to debt after someone dies? Read on to learn about how debt is managed and paid after death.