How To Get Burial Insurance For Inmates
To get final expense insurance for an inmate, you’ll need to opt for a guaranteed acceptance policy, which has no underwriting of any kind.
Any type of life insurance coverage that has health or lifestyle questions will nearly always address the issue of being in jail or prison. If such a question exists on an application, it will result in a flat-out denial.
While plans without health questions offer the unique benefit of guaranteed approval, they come with some major drawbacks such as:
- Mandatory waiting period: There will always be a two-year waiting period. During this time, any non-accidental death will only result in a refund of your premiums.
- Low death benefit maximum: Most providers that offer these plans will limit the coverage to $25,000. To get more than $25K in total coverage, you would need to buy multiple policies from multiple insurance companies.
- Higher cost: Since the insurer is taking on a large amount of risk insuring your life while knowing nothing about your health or lifestyle (these predict life expectancy), the cost (per $1,000 of coverage) is higher than all other types of life insurance.
While these “drawbacks” are not great per se, they are unavoidable for an inmate. You simply have no other options.
A Complete Online Application Is Necessary
Since an inmate is confined to a jail or prison, they cannot receive a paper application or meet with an agent.
Therefore, for an inmate to obtain a new policy, they will need to purchase coverage online from a provider that offers a true 100% online application.
How Much Will Final Expense Insurance Cost For An Inmate?
Below are sample prices for guaranteed acceptance final-expense policies.
The Best Burial Insurance Companies For Inmates
There are over a dozen life insurance companies that offer policies without health questions. Of all of them, the three best burial insurance companies that offer guaranteed acceptance coverage with a complete online application are listed below.
- $10K Policy Cost$51.10/month*
- New Applicant Ages18-85
- Death Benefit Options$5,000-$100,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
- $10K Policy Cost$41.01/month*
- New Applicant Ages45-85 (50-75 in NY)
- Death Benefit Options$2,000-$25,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodYes
- $10K Policy Cost$48.00/month*
- New Applicant Ages45-85 (varies by state)
- Death Benefit Options$3,000-$20,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodYes
Options After You Are Released
After you’re released, far more life insurance options exist. Now, traditional life insurance products such as term life, standard whole life, or universal life will still be unavailable (they will be declined due to recent incarceration).
However, non-guaranteed acceptance final expense insurance policies will be available at this point. These options: A) have no waiting period, B) have higher coverage maximums, and C) have lower premiums.
These types of burial insurance policies will include health and lifestyle questions that ultimately determine whether you are accepted or denied. Be mindful that there may be questions about parole, as it may result in a decline or a change in the cost.
After you’re released, here are a few providers to consider that won’t take issue with your recent incarceration:
- $10K Policy Cost$47.60/month*
- New Applicant Ages40-89
- Death Benefit Options$2K-$50K
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
- $10K Policy Cost$43.99/month*
- New Applicant Ages45-80
- Death Benefit Options$2K-$50K
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
- $10K Policy Cost$57.40/month*
- New Applicant Ages0-85
- Death Benefit Options$15/mo-$35,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodNo
Frequently Asked Questions
You can buy life insurance for someone else only if they agree and participate in the application process. You could not fully apply for an inmate without their involvement. They would need to access the online application and sign electronically. Nobody else (even if you have power of attorney over them) could do that for them.
There are no life insurance policies that let you add another adult to the coverage, which would then simultaneously insure them and you. To get burial insurance for an adult, each person must have their own policy.
Being in jail or prison is a very high-risk proposition that sadly results in a lot of premature deaths. Insurers would lose money by offering immediate coverage of benefits to people in this condition.
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Every company we review has an overall score that illustrates how well it stands out in the market relative to its competitors. These scores are not subjective. Instead, we utilize a defined 5-star scoring system that applies a weighted average of particular factors, all of which are outlined below and on our review methodology page.
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
We measure the price of a company’s most popular policy relative to its competitors’. The closeness of their cost to other companies determines the final score. Read a full breakdown of the price of coverage factor on our review methodology page.
Coverage
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
This factor assesses whether a company offers immediate coverage and, if so, how difficult it is to qualify for it. Read a full breakdown of the no waiting period coverage factor on our review methodology page.
Strength
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
A company’s financial strength is based on its rating with A.M. Best. Read a full breakdown of the financial strength factor on our review methodology page.
Complaint Index
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index measures an insurer’s frequency of consumer complaints compared to the rest of the market. The score the insurer receives is based on how it stacks up to the median score of other insurers. Read a full breakdown of the NAIC complaint index factor on our review methodology page.
Hold Time
Coverage
Strength
Complaint Index
Hold Time
The customer support hold time score is based on the average amount of time it takes a company to connect an existing policyholder to a human customer service agent. Read a full breakdown of the customer support hold time factor in our review methodology page.
Why trust Choice Mutual?
When we review products, our findings are unbiased and free of any influence from partnerships or methods of compensation. All findings, good or bad, are solely the derivative of our objective analysis of any given product or company.
As noted on our review methodology page, our researchers evaluate the financial stability of the insurer, policy costs, product limitations, state availability, customer satisfaction, waiting periods (if applicable), and other relevant factors. We aggregate all this cumulative data to develop objective overall scores based on predefined weighted factors.
In addition, a qualified expert who is well-qualified to speak on the matter will provide opinion-based feedback about the company or product being reviewed.
For over a decade, Choice Mutual has been an insurance agency specializing in final expense life insurance. Our expertise in this type of insurance is well documented in numerous authoritative publications, some of which are listed below:
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- Nationally licensed life insurance agent with over 16 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 16 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 20 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 20 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 15 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 1,500 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 20 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author.
Jeff Root is a nationally licensed life insurance expert with over 20 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 15 years of experience
- Best selling Amazon author of five insurance sales books.
David Duford is a nationally licensed insurance expert with over 15 years of experience. He has personally helped more than 1,500 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.
