Average Burial Insurance Cost By Age & Gender
Below is a table with sample monthly final expense insurance premiums.
Final Expense Insurance Cost Breakdown By Company
How Insurance Companies Determine The Cost Of Final Expense Life Insurance
How much final expense insurance costs is based on a few variables. Remember, your price will not be the same as someone else (unless they are nearly identical to you).
Gender
Men will always pay about 30% more than women for life insurance products because, on average, men don’t live as long as women. The only exception to that rule will be if you live in Montana. Due to Montana state regulations, life insurance companies cannot charge men and women different rates.
Age
Since burial insurance is a type of life insurance, your age heavily influences the price. The older you are, the more your life insurance coverage will cost. Most companies will have set life insurance rates for each specific age. For example, they will have a unique price for age 51, age 52, then age 53, and so forth.
However, some companies (not many) set the pricing according to age brackets, charging the same premium for anyone within a specific age range. For example, they will designate one price for anyone aged 50-55 or 75-80. It’s not common, but it does happen. AARP funeral insurance is one such policy that is priced using a bracket system.
Learn more about life insurance for seniors:
Type of policy
There are two main types of life insurance: term life and whole life. A term life insurance policy is temporary and generally lasts until age 80. Additionally, the price often increases every five years. For example, Globe life burial policies and AARP life insurance plans have a cost increase every five years, and the policy completely terminates when you turn 80.
Alternatively, whole life is a type of permanent life insurance that lasts forever, and the cost cannot increase over time. Comparatively, term life will always be cheaper than a whole life policy because term coverage expires around age 80.
There are two policy types of whole life final expense insurance plans: simplified issue (aka “no-exam”) and guaranteed acceptance. Guaranteed issue life insurance products have no health or lifestyle underwriting. There are no health questions or exams, which means you cannot be denied because of previous health conditions.
Because your approval is assured, there is always a two-year waiting period. Death during the first 24 months will mean that your beneficiaries only get a refund of your premiums plus interest (often 10%).
Now, life insurance options with health questions (simplified issue) are ones that you qualify for based on your health. There’s no medical exam, but you can be declined or approved for a program with partial coverage, full coverage, or a waiting period.
From a cost perspective, guaranteed acceptance plans are priced based on your age, gender, and how much coverage you buy. However, simplified issue plans factor into your health and tobacco habits to determine the cost. In most cases, simplified issue plans without a waiting period are cheaper than guaranteed issue policies.
Health (if seeking a no-waiting period plan)
Most companies selling burial insurance with no waiting period have their product broken down into one to three health classifications. Each health rating carries a different price structure.
An insurance company’s best health rating will cost the least. Their middle-tier rating will be more expensive, and their last one will be the costliest.
Here’s a breakdown of the common names used to describe the various health ratings from different burial insurance companies:
- “Level” or “Preferred”: Plans with these names will have the lowest possible cost and no waiting period. Generally, you’ll need to be in moderate to good health to qualify for these ratings.
- “Graded” or “Standard”: These words usually refer to a company’s middle-tier rating. Typically, you would have to answer yes to at least one question on an application for a provider to offer this type of plan. These plans will always cost more than a level or preferred rating. Typically, a graded plan has partial coverage during the first two years. However, some companies use “graded” to describe a policy with a full two-year waiting period (Mutual of Omaha is one example). Just remember that every company uses these words differently.
- “Modified” or “Basic”: These words always refer to the most expensive health rating possible. You would need to have severe health issues for an insurer to offer this type of plan to you. Not only will this plan cost the most, but it will always come with a two-year waiting period.
It’s also helpful to remember that your health will dictate your eligibility for how much coverage you can buy. Let’s use Mutual of Omaha as a real-life example. They have two different health ratings. For their Living Promise final expense policy, here are the coverage amounts available at each of Mutual of Omaha’s health ratings:
- Level: $2,000 – $50,000
- Graded: $2,000 – $20,000
Virtually every burial insurance carrier will have similar rules about how much coverage they offer for each health rating.
Tobacco usage
Cigarettes significantly reduce life expectancy, so smokers always pay more for life insurance products. If you chew, smoke a pipe, smoke e-cigarettes, or smoke cigars, some companies will offer you a non-tobacco price.
Amount of coverage you select
How much life insurance you want will heavily affect the cost.
All other factors (gender, age, tobacco usage, health) will ultimately determine your final expense insurance premium per $1,000 in coverage. Then it’s multiplied by the death benefit amount you want to determine the final cost.
For example, let’s say your cost per $1,000 comes out to be $4.43 per month. If you wish to get $15,000 in coverage, that would carry a monthly premium of $66.45 per month (4.43 x 15). It’s all proportional, too. A $25,000 whole life burial policy will cost about five times a $5,000 policy. The bottom line is that the more coverage you buy, the higher the price.
State of residence
Your state of residence determines which companies are available to you because providers pick and choose which states they offer their products in. For example, about 85% of final expense insurance companies avoid New York due to the excessive regulatory environment.
Additionally, women who live in Montana will pay a higher price due to a law that forces insurers to charge men and women the same rate. Because of that, insurance providers charge females the same price as men (about 30% more than women). In all other states, women would pay a lot less.
What About Very Low Prices Seen On TV For $9.95 Or “Pennies Per Day”?
Final expense insurance companies that advertise on TV, online, or via mail regularly highlight teaser rates that aren’t remotely close to reality. Never believe any price quoted in a paid advertisement.
The actual cost of a burial insurance policy will significantly differ from the prices you see on TV or hear on the radio.
Remember that any time companies make claims such as “Starting at $10 per month” or “Coverage for just pennies per day,” they’re quoting a young, healthy person seeking $500-$1,000 in coverage. That’s how they arrive at the low price they’re quoting.
For example, the 995 plan from Colonial Penn provides just $1,000 in coverage for a 70-year-old female. Colonial Penn ads give the impression that you’ll get a $10,000–$20,000 death benefit for $9.95.
But when you check a Colonial Penn rate chart, you immediately see that’s not the case. Also, never believe highly deceptive ads that make it appear as though you can get:
- Free burial insurance for seniors
- Government burial insurance
- State regulated final expense insurance
None of those are true. If you want to know how much final expense insurance costs, use this free quote tool, or you can review a whole life rates chart to see estimates for each age bracket.
Typical Funeral Expenses To Consider
The amount of coverage is a significant variable that influences the cost of a final expense policy. For that reason, estimating your funeral expenses is essential so you know approximately how much coverage you’ll need.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), some of the ordinary funeral expenses may include but are not limited to:
- Funeral home services: $2,495
- Body transportation: $395
- Burial plot: $3,581
- Metal casket: $2,500
- Embalming: $845
- Grave markers or headstones: $1,000
- Vault: $1,695
- Memorial services: $550
- Viewing: $475
- Opening and closing of the grave: $1,000
- Flowers: $100
- Cremation fee: $400
- Urn: $295
Additionally, there may be other end-of-life expenses to pay for outside of the funeral costs, such as:
- Mortgage
- Credit card debt
- Other outstanding debts
- Attorney fees
- Medical bills
- Automobile loan
- Other unsecured debt
When setting up your policy, you should consider all these variables to know you have enough coverage to pay for burial expenses. The average cost of a funeral is roughly $10,000. Cremation costs are typically about $7,000.
Unless you have an extravagant funeral, you won’t need a $50,000 or $100,000 policy to cover those expenses. $5,000-$20,000 should suffice. It’s also helpful to consult a funeral cost calculator to estimate your burial costs accurately.
How To Find The Best Price On Your Funeral Insurance
First, it’s helpful to remember that the best burial insurance companies won’t allow you to buy final expense insurance online without talking with an insurance agent.
Nearly all of them only sell their coverage via licensed agencies (such as Choice Mutual).
Most of the time, the type of plans sold directly by the insurance companies are guaranteed acceptance policies. Those plans are frequently the most expensive and always have a two-year waiting period provision.
Life insurance plans with no waiting period that fully insure you from day one are exclusively sold via licensed insurance agents. You’ll need to work with an agency if you want a plan with no waiting period at the lowest price possible.
The most effective way to secure the cheapest final expense insurance is to work with a licensed broker that represents numerous funeral insurance companies. Agencies compare life insurance quotes on your behalf to determine which one will give you the best price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually, Mutual of Omaha offers the lowest premiums for final expense insurance (check this Mutual of Omaha rate chart). But remember that no single company will have the best burial insurance for everyone since prices vary by the company. It’s advisable to compare the price and financial strength of all the companies you’re considering to find the best life insurance policy for your needs.
Since burial policies are a type of whole life coverage, the rates will never increase.
Contrary to what most people think, the cheapest final expense insurance plans have no waiting period. If you qualify for immediate coverage, it means you applied for a program with health questions, and you were approved (rather than being declined). That means the insurer knows you don’t have severe life-threatening issues like congestive heart failure, terminal cancer, dementia, or renal failure.
Generally, most providers will allow you to pay monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. It’s important to note that an automatic bank draft is your only option if you want a policy without a waiting period and want to pay monthly. The payment must come from a checking or savings account on a day you choose using a routing and account number. Immediate coverage options will not allow you to mail in monthly payments. If you want to make monthly payments with a pre-paid card, Direct Express card, or by sending in a check or money order, you’ll have to settle for a policy with a two-year waiting period.
Yes, like traditional life insurance, you can pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually and get a minor discount with most insurance companies.
A final expense policy is a type of insurance that quickly pays out a tax-free cash benefit to your family members, which they can spend on your funeral expenses or anything else. A pre-need insurance policy is a contract you set up through the funeral home when buying a pre-paid burial plan. With pre-need insurance, the funeral home is the beneficiary. When you die, the insurance company will pay the money directly to the funeral home so they can execute your final wishes. Comparatively, pre-need plans are always more costly than final expense policies. However, both have pros and cons, so it’s wise to compare each option side by side before choosing one or the other.
Burial insurance is a type of no medical exam whole life insurance policy that covers your funeral arrangements. These policies provide peace of mind, knowing your funeral won’t become a financial burden for your loved ones when you die. While the proceeds are usually intended for the cost of funeral services, your beneficiaries can spend the payout money on anything. It’s important to note that burial insurance is frequently referred to as “final expense insurance” and “funeral insurance.” Because burial policies for seniors are a type of whole life insurance, the death benefit won’t decrease, and the price never increases. Burial insurance has no age limit (it lasts forever) and builds cash value.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 15 years of experience
- Personal annual production that puts him in the top .001% out of all life insurance agents in the nation.
Anthony Martin is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 years of experience and has personally served over 10,000 clients with their life insurance needs. He frequently authors entrepreneurial and life insurance content for Forbes, Inc.com, Newsweek, Kiplinger, and Entreprenuer.com. Anthony has been consulted as an expert life insurance source for dozens of high-profile websites such as Forbes, Bankrate, Reuters, Fox Business, CNBC, Investopedia, Insurance.com, Yahoo Finance, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 19 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 19 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 10 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of three insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 10 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 1500 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest Youtube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 19 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 19 years of experience. He has personally helped over 3000 clients with their life insurance needs. Jeff is a best-selling Amazon author and the managing partner of a highly successful insurance brokerage that manages over 2,500 licensed insurance agents across the USA. He has been a featured life insurance source for prestigious websites such as Forbes, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, Nerdwallet, and many more.
- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 10 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of three insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 10 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 1500 clients buy life insurance. David has been featured as an expert source for highly authoritative publications such as A.M. Best and Insurancenewsnet. He also runs one of the largest Youtube channels to help aspiring insurance agents serve their clients better.
Choice Mutual often cites third-party websites to provide context and verification for specific claims made in our work. We only link to authoritative websites that provide accurate information. You can learn more about our editorial standards, which guide our mission of delivering factual and impartial content.
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men don't live as long as women. https://www.statista.com/statistics/274513/life-expectancy-in-north-america/
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Montana state regulations. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/10/01/Unisex-insurance-law-begins/7442496987200/
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term life insurance policy. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/termlife.asp
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reduce life expectancy. https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/index.htm
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a law. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/10/01/montana-implements-policy-of-unisex-insurance/c8897a22-a667-4d6e-acb2-b695702e1b31/
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National Funeral Directors Association. https://nfda.org/news/media-center/nfda-news-releases/id/8134/2023-nfda-general-price-list-study-shows-inflation-increasing-faster-than-the-cost-of-a-funeral
