How Does Guaranteed Issue Burial Insurance Work?
Guaranteed issue burial insurance is a type of final expense coverage with no underwriting. You don’t have to answer health questions, provide medical records, or complete a medical exam.
All guaranteed final expense policies have a mandatory two-year waiting period. Should you die during the waiting period from natural causes, the insurer will only refund your premiums, plus roughly 10% interest. If you live for more than 2 years, the full death benefit will pay out.
Guaranteed issue life insurance is always a whole life policy. There are no guaranteed issue term life policies. Being a type of whole life insurance, the premiums and death benefit will never change, cash value accrues over time, and the policy will last forever.
Given the high-risk nature of insuring a life while knowing nothing about the person’s health history, guaranteed issue burial policies are costly. In fact, it’s the most expensive type of life insurance. Also, because of the high risk, nearly all insurers offer a maximum of $25,000 in coverage.
Requirements To Buy A Guaranteed Issue Final Expense Policy
While a guaranteed issue burial insurance policy does not require you to answer health questions, you must be able to satisfy the following requirements:
- Mentally capable of signing a legal contract: A life insurance application is a legal contract. If you have any sort of mental incapacity, such as dementia, that prevents you from legally signing your name, there is no way to apply. Keep in mind that insurers strictly forbid anyone with power of attorney from signing the application on behalf of the person who is mentally incapacitated.
- In the USA: To apply for any life insurance, you must be located within the United States at the time that you apply. Also, the state you’re currently located in governs which products you have access to, since not all policies are available in all states.
- Have a Social Security number: Insurance companies require an SSN to apply for coverage. If you don’t have one, applying is not an option.
How Much Does Guaranteed Burial Insurance Cost?
Since guaranteed issue burial insurance policies don’t require health questions, the cost is based solely on age, gender, and the amount of coverage you choose.
Pros And Cons Of Guaranteed Acceptance Final Expense Insurance
- No health questions or medical exam.
- Instant approval since there is no underwriting.
- Can often be bought entirely online, via mail, or by phone.
- An opportunity for those with serious health issues to obtain a new life insurance policy.
- Two-year waiting period, during which death will result only in a refund of premiums.
- Not available to those age 86 or older.
- Lower coverage maximums (usually $25,000).
- It’s the most expensive life insurance (per $1,000 of coverage).
Best Guaranteed Issue Burial Insurance Policies
- $10K Policy Cost$55.00/month*
- New Applicant Ages45-85
- Death Benefit Options$3,000-$25,000
- 2-Year Waiting PeriodYes
- $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
How To Get Final Expense Insurance With No Waiting Period
To get final expense insurance with no waiting period, you must answer health questions (no exam is required) and be accepted by the company for a plan with immediate coverage. If approved, you’ll be fully insured for natural or accidental death starting on the day of your first premium.
Please understand that companies that advertise “no exam burial insurance policies with no waiting period” are offering coverage that has a health questionnaire. Many people see the words “no exam” and think it means “no health questions,” which is not the case.
No matter what, if you want immediate coverage, you must answer questions about your health history.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no way to buy any form of life or final expense insurance with no health questions that also comes with the benefit of no waiting period. No health questions = a two-year waiting period 100% of the time.
There is no way to buy any form of life or final expense insurance with no health questions that also comes with the benefit of no waiting period. No health questions = a two-year waiting period 100% of the time.
Since most insurers that sell guaranteed issue burial insurance offer a maximum of $25,000 in coverage, to get more coverage, you must buy multiple policies from different insurers. Let’s say you want a total of $75,000 in coverage; you could buy $25,000 from AAA, $25,000 from Mutual of Omaha, and $25,000 from AARP.
Life insurance with no medical exam will typically have a health questionnaire that you must complete. Keep in mind that if a company offers a policy that only says “no exam”, that means there are health questions. If approval is guaranteed, the advertisement will specifically say “no health questions”.
Our Insurance Review Methodology
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
We measure the price of a company’s most popular they promote 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
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
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
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.
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 pre-defined 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:
Choice Mutual’s mission is to provide consumers with unbiased expert commentary and explanations of the topics being discussed. We want our readers to be armed with information and tools that cannot be found anywhere else on the internet, so they can truly make an informed decision.
All content on this website is written by Anthony Martin, who is a licensed life insurance agent with over a decade of expertise in this industry and has been quoted as an expert source hundreds of times by many reputable news outlets.
Per our editorial guidelines, we have never, and will never, use artificial intelligence to create our content. Every word printed on this website is produced and curated 100% by human beings who have firsthand experience with the subject matter.
- 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 15,000 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 15,000 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.
