Your term policy ends at 75: the conversion deadline

Here is a phone call worth avoiding. Someone turns 74, their term policy is ending next year, and they want to keep some coverage. They call the insurer and learn that the conversion option they were counting on expired at 70.

This file is about preventing that phone call.

What conversion is

Most term life policies include a conversion privilege. It lets you exchange some or all of your term coverage for a permanent policy (usually whole life or universal life) from the same insurer, without answering new health questions or taking a medical exam.

That last part is the treasure. If your health has changed since you bought the term policy, and at 65 or 70 it usually has, conversion may be the only way to keep a meaningful amount of coverage at a standard rate class.

The deadline is usually not the end date

The policy may run to 75, but the right to convert often ends earlier. Insurers set the deadline in one of a few ways:

How the deadline is written	What it means in practice
"Before the policy anniversary nearest age 65 (or 70)"	A birthday deadline, sometimes years before the term ends
"During the level premium period"	Ends when the guaranteed level premium ends, even if the policy can continue at a higher price
"Within the first X policy years"	A fixed number of years after you bought it
"Prior to the expiry date"	The rare generous version: you can convert up to the end

Policies can have more than one condition, such as "the earlier of age 70 or the end of the level period." Read the exact sentence. If you can't find it, call the insurer and ask them to send the conversion provision in writing.

What the converted policy will cost

Converting keeps your original health rating, but the new permanent policy is priced at your current age. So the premium will be noticeably higher than your term premium was. That surprises people. Permanent coverage at 70 is simply more expensive than term coverage bought at 45.

Ways to make it manageable:

• Convert part of it. Many insurers let you convert a portion of the face amount. If your term policy was sized to replace a salary, you may only need a fraction of it now.
• Ask which products are eligible. Some insurers allow conversion only into certain policies. Ask for quotes on each.
• Ask about conversion credits. Some insurers offer a credit toward the new policy's first-year premium when you convert during an early window. Ask whether yours does.

A timeline that works

• At 60 to 65: Find the policy and the conversion provision. Write the deadline on the inside cover of your file.
• One to two years before the deadline: Decide how much permanent coverage you want and why. A final expense amount? Something for a spouse?
• Six months before: Request conversion quotes and the forms.
• Before the deadline: Submit the paperwork. Keep a copy. Ask for a written confirmation.

If you have already missed it

All is not lost, but the options narrow:

• Ask whether the policy has an annual renewable feature after the level term. Premiums rise each year, but it may bridge a short period.
• Apply for new coverage with health questions. If you are in reasonable health, you may still qualify.
• Look at simplified-issue or guaranteed-issue final expense coverage for a smaller amount. See Life insurance after 70: what's still on the table.

Group term policies have their own clock

Life insurance through an employer usually has a separate conversion right when you retire or leave the job, often with a short window to apply measured in days. If you are retiring, ask your benefits office for the conversion notice before your last day, and calendar the deadline the day you receive it.

Why I put this file at 65

Not because the policy ends at 65. Because 65 is a birthday when people are already reviewing paperwork for Medicare, and it gives you room before the most common birthday deadlines. Put this policy in the same pile.