Everything You Need to Know About Final Expense Life Insurance
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If you’re a senior, you might know how difficult it can be to get life insurance. often, coverage is expensive and limited in the amount it provides. If you don’t have life insurance, you might want to consider a final expense life insurance policy to cover you end-of-life cost.
Together, we’ll review some questions you might have about funeral insurance, and determine if it’s the right plan for you or your loved one.
What is Final Expense Insurance
The only expense that might sneak up on you is your funeral. Final expense life insurance is a whole life policy with a smaller death benefit for seniors that don’t need as much coverage as younger people. Final Expense insurance isn’t only for this reason, though, and may be purchased on top of existing coverage. Final Expense insurance does not have a restriction regarding payout and can be used as directed by the beneficiary in any way they desire. Final Expense Insurance serves as a policy with a reduced payout but a reduced monthly premium relative to other whole life insurance policies.
Do I Need Final Expense Life Insurance?
Do you already have life insurance? Are you over the age of 50? No matter how you answered, we still encourage you to consider Final Expense Insurance. Generally, the minimum age for a Final Expense Insurance policy is 45, but, being informed of the policy before this age may still serve a purpose as you know what to expect when that time comes. If you have applied for traditional term life insurance and were denied coverage, or it was too expensive due to your age or medical conditions, then final expense life insurance is the policy you should be looking for.
Final Expense Insurance is specifically designed to guarantee that all applicants are accepted, albeit at an adjusted rate based on your corresponding conditions/disposition. On top of this, the policy produces payouts generally within just two years at a relatively high proportional value to the monthly premiums being provided.
Even at an older age, or with pre-existing medical conditions, you can still qualify for an affordable final expense insurance policy. Get the coverage you need, at a price that you can afford.
Term vs Whole Life vs Graded
Term
Generally, the cheapest of the policy forms, term life insurance is one of the most popular types of life insurance, in 2022. Term life insurance provides death protection for a certain period of time. This is usually between 10-30 years. Once the term is over, the policy would be canceled and you no longer have life insurance coverage. One may generally renew these terms at will, but this may pose an issue if the policy holder’s financial/physical status change.
Graded
Graded benefit insurance plans contain a clause indicating that if death occurs before the waiting period (usually two years), then payout does not occur, or may occur at a reduced rate. If an unexpected death occurs before the waiting period, you are entitled to whatever the policy holder paid in premiums up until this point.
Whole Life
Whole life insurance, (sometimes called final expense or funeral insurance) your death benefit and premiums stay the same for the remainder of your life. As long as you pay your premium each month, your policy stays active and your beneficiary will be paid when you pass away.
Regular Life Insurance vs Final Expense Insurance
Some people may think that these policies compete with each other in their specific niche, well, we’d happily like to inform you that this actually is not the case. Both policies may coexist peacefully, and serve similar purposes albeit at different rates. A Regular Whole Life Insurance Policy produces a higher payout at a relatively higher monthly cost, whereas Final Expense’s main goal is to mitigate any unexpected funeral costs. As both payouts contain no restriction, having both policies only serves to benefit your family.
What Are The Benefits of Final Expense insurance?
For seniors, final expense insurance has many benefits that will provide you with everything you need in a life insurance policy. Let’s take a look at these benefits in detail.
Lower Monthly Premiums
Final expense insurance coverage is usually capped at $50,000. Because it offers a lower death benefit, you only pay for the coverage that you need. The average cost of a funeral is around $7,000 to $10,000 and with a $50,000 policy, would be completely negated as well as supplying your family with a surplus meant to fortify your legacy.
You can get your funeral expenses covered for as little as $1 per day or less. Here at Final Expense Benefits, we contract with the top insurance companies to bring you the best funeral insurance plans.
No Waiting Periods
Most whole life final expense plans have no waiting period. A lot of seniors need coverage now and can’t afford to pay premiums for two years for their plan to kick in.
At Final Expense Benefits we work with as many companies as possible to bring you funeral insurance plans with little to no waiting periods.
No Medical Exam
Possibly the greatest benefit of final expense insurance is that you don’t have to take a medical exam to qualify for coverage. With term life insurance, the reason most seniors can’t get it is due to their medical conditions.
Some final expense insurance plans don’t even ask you any health questions. Regardless of you current state of health you can be qualified and approved in minutes and your plan starts the next day.
What Questions Can I Expect to See On The Medical Exam?
Aside from the standard medical assessment questions, such as height, weight, age, etc, there are two questions that stand out above the rest in the eyes of a Final Expense Insurance companies. These two questions involve any pre-existing medical conditions and your tobacco use.
Tobacco users statistically live a lot less than those who do not partake in such, and pre-existing conditions are essentially chronic conditions that cannot be 100% planned for. As a result, your answers to these two questions will affect the adjustment in your rate the most, whether that’s higher or lower than the average.
How Much Does Final Expense Insurance Cost?
The cost of final expense insurance will vary not only on what company you go with but how old you are, your medical conditions, how much coverage you want, and more. The best thing to do is have one of our licensed agents shop all the top companies for you.
For example, a male age 55 can get a final expense policy of $10,000 through Mutual of Omaha for $35.95 per month. That same policy through Prosperity Life Group is $39.42 and $44.10 with CVS Health.
So why are the prices different for the same amount of coverage? Based on your age, health and other factors, you could be a higher or lower risk factor to different carriers. That’s why it’s best to shop around and have our licensed agents do all the searching for you.
Final Expense Funeral Insurance Cost Examples
$10,000 Male
| Male-Age | Low (Mutual of Omaha) | High (Americo) |
|---|---|---|
|
50 |
$30.68 |
$39.97 |
|
55 |
$35.95 |
$46.47 |
|
60 |
$43.76 |
$52.16 |
|
65 |
$56.48 |
$65.40 |
|
70 |
$73.15 |
$86.49 |
|
75 |
$99.97 |
$118.09 |
|
80 |
$139.73 |
$172.93 |
These example quotes are estimates based on a price for standard issue, non-tobacco, simplified issue final expense insurance. These prices are not an offer for insurance and are used as examples. Please contact Final Expense Benefits for your free quote today!
$10,000 Female
| Female-Age | Low (Mutual of Omaha) | High (Americo) |
|---|---|---|
|
50 |
$24.31 |
$34.08 |
|
55 |
$27.71 |
$37.89 |
|
60 |
$32.87 |
$41.34 |
|
65 |
$41.01 |
$52.83 |
|
70 |
$53.24 |
$65.60 |
|
75 |
$72.41 |
$86.89 |
|
80 |
$98.43 |
$135.12 |
These example quotes are estimates based on a price for standard issue, non-tobacco, simplified issue final expense insurance. These prices are not an offer for insurance and are used as examples. Please contact Final Expense Benefits for your free quote today!
How Much Does a Funeral Cost?
Funeral costs can sneak up on us and be more that what we were expecting. In 2022, just like gas prices, funerals are going up. Because of Covid-19 and added deaths in the United States, they don’t seem to be going down anytime soon.
| Service Rendered | Cost |
|---|---|
|
Basic Service Fee |
$2,300 |
|
Transportation of Remains |
$350 |
|
Casket |
$2,500 |
|
Embalming |
$775 |
|
Hearse |
$350 |
|
Vault |
$1,572 |
|
Staff for Funeral & Viewing |
$965 |
|
Memorial Package |
$221 |
|
Total |
$9,033.00 |
Cost of Cremation
If you aren’t wanting to have a proper funeral with a viewing or burial, cremation is a cheaper alternative. On average, cremation with a viewing and traditional service is around $3,000. You can also choose a direct cremation. Generally, a direct cremation can be done for around $1,000.
Final expense life insurance can usually go as low as $2,000 for a death benefit. So even if you are just looking to be cremated, it’s still a great option to have that expense covered and leave some extra for your loved ones.
Final Expense Insurance Companies
Thankfully, here at Final Expense Benefits, we contract with only the top senior life insurance companies, as well as Final Expense Insurance companies. If you’re a senior on a fixed income, we work with carriers like;
We’ve had a lot of experience with these brokers as well as many more, and as a result, are versed in connecting potential policyholders to the perfect policy for their time and budget.
Does Social Security Pay For My Funeral?
In 2022, Social Security Administration will only provide $255 to your surviving spouse or child, if they meet certain requirements. This isn’t to be confused with “survivor benefits” involving someone who has forcefully lost their loved one, which is a monthly payment vs a one-time sum.
It’s great that Social Security wants to provide assistance for funeral expenses, but as you can tell, it’s not very much. Based on the chart above, Social Security provides around 2% of the total average cost of a funeral.
Is End-of-Life Insurance and Funeral Insurance Taxable?
Thankfully, funeral insurance death benefits are typically paid out to the beneficiary within 48 to 72 hours after death. That’s a lot sooner than a term life insurance policy.
The amount paid out to your beneficiary once someone dies is not taxable income. This is because the payout amount isn’t a tangible asset at any point, and once the payout is received this policy is no longer associated with you and may be used however seen fit.
Conclusion
Whether you are looking to have your funeral expenses covered or your cremation cost covered, or you just want to leave extra money for your family, final expense insurance might be for you.
Here at Final Expense Benefits, we contract with only the top insurance companies to bring the best and cheapest final expense funeral insurance available. Give our licensed agents a call today and get the peace of mind you are looking for.
Our number is 1 (866) 311-4338.