There are a number of quality insurance companies that offer Burial insurance or Final Expense life insurance to seniors at amounts from $5,000 to $25,000 or more.
Currently, this type of life insurance coverage is available to people up to age 85 or 90 and the coverage available is usually Whole Life insurance that will also build cash value.
There are some universal life insurance companies that offer low amounts like $25,000 to help pay for final expenses, but the majority of final expense carriers only offer traditional whole life insurance.
If your health is decent, you may be able to buy higher amount of guaranteed universal life insurance for less money than traditional final expense whole life insurance. The trade off is that you'll get more life insurance but little or no cash value with guaranteed universal life.
Final expenses can vary greatly, but the amount of life insurance that’s purchased the most for this purpose is between $10k- $25k.
Final Expense Life Insurance Companies
There's 100's of carriers offering final expense whole life insurance, so we're only going to show the BEST carriers with lowest rates and/or the most well known here.
We reviewed several databases we use to narrow down best rates and carriers for anyone, and below are the best final expense whole life insurance companies right now:
Sons of Norway
Sons of Norway is a fraternal organization since 1895. They offer some of the lowest final expense whole life rates in the country for those ages 0- 85.
Their final expense life insurance requires no exam, but health questions do need to be answered on their application.
Due to Covid 19, Sons of Norway is currently only offering life insurance up to age 74, but we're hoping these restrictions will be lifted soon as they previously offered absolute lowest final expense rates up to age 85.
Cincinnati Life
With Superior financial ratings from AM Best and other rating services, Cincinnati Life offers some of the lowest and best final expense Whole Life rates in the United States for those ages 0- 79 currently.
For ages 0-60 at insurance amounts up to $99,999 they do not require any insurance exam, but from age 61 and higher they do require a paramedical exam and urinalysis.
This mini-exam requirement can be a hassle for some people, but the good thing is that there are other companies that offer similar pricing without any exam.
Mutual of Omaha
With name recognition and Superior financial ratings from AM Best and other rating services, United of Omaha offers great final expense rates those ages 45- 85 currently.
They require no exam, but health questions do need to be answered on their application.
Other Final Expense Carriers
Other quality carriers that show up competitive at different ages and in some States are as follows:
Final Expense Insurance Quotes
Below are monthly rates for $20,000 of Whole Life insurance assuming no significant health or other issues:
Male $20,000 | Sons of Norway | Cincinnati Life | Mutual of Omaha |
|---|---|---|---|
Age 60 | $66.98 | $66.79 | $84.22 |
Age 70 | $109.26 | $123.25 | $146.01 |
Age 80 | n/a | n/a | $276.26 |
Age 85 | n/a | n/a | $382.27 |
Female $20,000 | Sons of Norway | Cincinnati Life | Mutual of Omaha |
|---|---|---|---|
Age 60 | $59.26 | $58.96 | $62.53 |
Age 70 | $94.13 | $104.65 | $103.28 |
Age 80 | n/a | n/a | $193.66 |
Age 85 | n/a | n/a | $268.60 |
Final Expense Insurance for Seniors over 75
All life insurance rates are based on age and health, so it always makes sense to buy the largest amount for longest duration you may need while you're younger and healthier.
There comes an age when final expense life insurance makes less sense to purchase if you believe you'll pay more into the policy than it's worth...
For example, if you can qualify for best $20,000 final expense rate at age 75 as a female, you'll pay about $142 monthly or $1,704 per year...and $1,704 multiplied by 12 years equals $20,448.
If you can qualify for best $20,000 final expense rate at age 75 as a male, you'll pay about $172 monthly or $2,064 per year...and $2,064 multiplied by 10 years equals $20,640.
At age 80, a $20,000 rate for female is $194 monthly or $2,328 per year if health is good...AND rate for 80 year old male is about $276 monthly or $3,312 per year, so they may be better offer investing their money in a safe investment instead of buying the life insurance.
Final Expense Whole Life vs Guaranteed UL
The most competitively priced permanent life insurance that is guaranteed to provide coverage for life is Guaranteed Universal Life or GUL.
GUL also offers the option to "dial in your guarantee" for shorter duration time frame to reduce your cost.
$25,000 is currently the minimum face amount offered by some GUL carriers, as many won't offer below $50,000 or $100,000.
Let's check out some final expense whole life and guaranteed universal life rates below to compare.
Below are the best available $25,000 monthly GUL rates guaranteed for life and to age 90 compared to Final Expense Whole Life (FIWL) rates for males and females age 60, 70 and 80:
Male $25,000 | Age 60 | Age 70 | Age 80 |
|---|---|---|---|
Lifetime GUL | $65 | $102 | $198 |
Age 90 GUL | $53 | $77 | $127 |
FIWL | $82 | $136 | $278 |
Female $25.000
| Age 60 | Age 70 | Age 80 |
|---|---|---|---|
Lifetime GUL | $60 | $89 | $172 |
Age 90 GUL | $50 | $66 | $111 |
FIWL | $73 | $117 | $211 |
IMPORTANT: rates can vary from State to State and based on your health and other history...rates above are some of the current best rates available to non-tobaccos users based on gender and age and for $25,000 of "permanent" insurance, but could be different in your State or based on your medial history.
Again, you can "dial in" a GUL or even some regular UL policies to provide coverage to age 80, 85, 90, 95, etc., at a lower cost than the "lifetime" guarantee...
So the flexibility that GUL offers and the potentially lower cost than final expense whole life can result in your getting more coverage for less money and can be appealing to some people!
Final Expense Life Insurance with No Exam
How do the final expense no exam carriers know if the health questions you answer are accurate?
They will review several databases including but not limited to Lexis Nexis, pharmacy records motor vehicle, MIB (www.mib.com), Human API electronic medical data..
This helps to prevent fraud and to verify information provided on the applications.
Honest is always the best policy when completing
Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance
There are also guaranteed acceptance life insurance policies that are more expensive than the final expense or burial insurance plans mentioned above.
You've probably seen advertisements for this type of coverage from AARP, Globe Life and even by Alex Trebek for Colonial Penn.
These guaranteed acceptance plans should only be looked at as an absolute last resort for people that cannot qualify for the better final expense life rates.
REASON: Guaranteed acceptance life insurance will cover everyone and there are no health questions to be answered to qualify. The companies that offer this type of coverage know that only unhealthy people buy this coverage, so they charge a high premium.
These guaranteed acceptance companies also have a 2 or 3 year period, after coverage is paid for and placed in force, before they’ll pay the full insurance amount to the insured’s beneficiary if death is due to any disease or illness.
Bottom Line on Burial Insurance
The younger and healthier you are when you purchase, the more cost effective the rate will be.
If you’d like to get quotes for final expense or burial life insurance, please call or text us at 800-380-3533, email us or just make a quote request by clicking button above and we'll find best rates for you!