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Final Expense
Our Top Final Expense Insurance Companies
How Much Is Final Expense Insurance in the United States?
Final Expense Insurance Rates
Final expense insurance, also known as “burial insurance”, is a small whole life insurance policy with affordable premiums. Most companies charge $20-$100 per month for a $10,000 final expense policy, although rates vary depending on your age, gender, and the death benefit your policy offers.
| Age | Female $10,000 No Waiting Period | Female $10,000 Guaranteed Acceptance | Male $10,000 No Waiting Period | Male $10,000 Guaranteed Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | $22 | $28 | $27 | $33 |
| 50 | $24 | $30 | $30 | $36 |
| 55 | $27 | $38 | $35 | $45 |
| 60 | $32 | $42 | $43 | $55 |
| 65 | $41 | $51 | $54 | $66 |
| 70 | $51 | $69 | $70 | $89 |
| 75 | $71 | $98 | $99 | $121 |
| 80 | $98 | $140 | $139 | $166 |
| 85 | $135 | $170 | $192 | $230 |
| 89 | $275 | N/A | $358 | N/A |
Disclaimer: Based on your home’s age and condition, deductibles, home security, and personal profile, you may pay over or under this rate. Get a quote today to check your rate.
Best & Cheapest Final Expense Insurance in the U.S.
Based on our 2024 rate analysis of insurance carriers, Mutual of Omaha is the top provider of final expense insurance. Their Living Promise lifetime coverage product is made available for anyone aged 45-85. This is one of the few final expense plans available to applicants below the age of 50. Their premiums are consistently among the lowest.
| Age | $10,000 | $20,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | $24.86 | $46.51 |
| 50 | $27.50 | $51.78 |
| 55 | $31.83 | $60.45 |
| 60 | $38.32 | $73.43 |
| 65 | $48.75 | $94.29 |
| 70 | $63.93 | $124.65 |
| 75 | $86.19 | $169.18 |
| 80 | $119.08 | $234.96 |
| 85 | $164.32 | $325.44 |
Is Final Expense Insurance Worth It?
If one thing we can be 100% sure of is that someday we will die and dying is not cheap. In 2022, the national average cost of funerals is around $10,000. After we die, our loved ones could be stuck with our outstanding debts, medical expenses and funeral bills.
The bill for a person’s final expenses is unavoidable, so a final expense insurance can be ideal for someone who only needs a small death benefit to cover their final expenses when they pass. Unlike life insurance that pays within 30 to 60 days after the claim is filed, final expense payouts have no waiting periods, meaning beneficiaries get the full death benefit starting from the very first day. Beneficiaries will receive 100% of the death benefit even if the deceased only made one payment on their policy.
As mentioned above, death benefits can range from $2,000 to $50,000 and premiums start at around $20 per month. You can get approved within minutes, no medical exam is needed, and once a final expense policy is issued, rates never go up. To apply, you must be 80 years old or younger (some companies issue policies to people who are up to 85 years old). Another benefit of a final expense insurance is that thou it is mostly considered for “burial” expenses, the beneficiaries are not limited to just that. Beneficiaries can use the death benefit for any purpose, from paying property taxes to taking a vacation.
What Does Final Expense Insurance Cover?
The proceeds for final expense insurance can be used for anything at all and is up to the beneficiary what they want to use it for. Could be for:
- Funeral service
- Burial or cremation
- Post-funeral gathering
- Flowers, music, obituary, or other funeral arrangements
- Medical Bills
- Nursing home or other residential care
- Nest egg for a child or grandchild’s future
- Special trip
- Donation to a charity that’s meaningful to you or the deceased
Coverage Categories
- Guaranteed Issue
Guaranteed Issue plans offers no-questions- asked coverage, where no health information is required. However, if the policy holder dies within 2 years of getting the policy, they would not receive the full death benefit. Instead, they get their money back plus 10% of the money paid or a similar variation depending on the company.
- Simplified Issue
Simplified Issue plans cost less and there is no waiting period before full coverage is available. For this reason, it is considered a better plan than Guaranteed Issue. No medical exam is required but relies on a health questionnaire for approval.
- Modified (or Graded) Death Benefit Life Insurance
Modified, or Graded, Death Benefit Life Insurance is a plan that lies between Guaranteed and Simplified. This plan may have a schedule of percentages of death benefit that grade in over time. For example, if the policy holder dies within 1 year of getting the policy approved, they get 30% of the death benefits. If they die within 2 years, then they get 70% of the death benefits. If they die within 3 years, then they get 100% of the death benefits. This policy tends to cost more than Simplified Issue and sometimes even more than Guaranteed Issue plans.
How Does Final Expense Insurance Work?
Apply
The first step is to think about bills you might incur such as funeral plans, medical bills or leftover debt. By adding these up you can figure out an ideal coverage amount. We recommend that before you commit to an insurance company, explore your options of final expense plans available.
Applying for final expense insurance is quick and easy. Medical exams are not required, and in some cases, you may not even have to answer medical questions. This helps cut down approval times to just minutes.
Buy
Once approved for final expense life insurance, you’ll start making regular premium payments on your policy. These premiums never go up once they are issued and coverage never expires. You can also build cash value over time which you can borrow and use it as collateral for a loan. We recommend you give the details on the policy and insurance company to a family member so they can access it when the time comes.
Protect
After your death, your family will receive a cash amount equal to the coverage amount you applied for. This money can be used for anything at all. To ensure all or most funeral costs are covered, some people assign a funeral home as the beneficiary of their policy, so the payout goes directly to the business to cover those costs. We recommend you check to make sure your chosen funeral home will allow you to set this up. Having a final expense plan in place can provide a financial safety net for your loved ones during a difficult time.
About Us
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Our Mission:
InsureBetter.net’s mission is to empower Americans with information they can trust. Our goal is to be a reliable source of educational content regarding auto, home, and pet insurance prices. In addition, we provide details on requirement policies, coverage, and rates from 21+ top insurance companies.
The driving force behind our purpose is the deeply disturbing fact that Americans are overpaying insurance companies by over $10,000 in funeral costs when they could be saving with the right insurance policy. This is ridiculous. This needs to change. This is why we created InsureBetter.net.
Data & Rate Estimate Methodology
For our sample insurer profile, InsureBetter.net used final expense quotes from an average 13 top insurance providers in each state for male and female insurers between the ages of 45-85 with standard health and no tobacco use, applying for a $10,000 policy.
These are sample rates and should be used for comparative purposes only. Get a quote today to check your personalized rate.
Kiara Emerson is an insurance writer for InsureBetter.net. She’s a final expense expert who has been helping clients since 2010 by sharing the knowledge she’s garnered after helping thousands of clients. Her favorite part of the job is making final expense and life insurance digestible for readers so they can prepare for the future.