What is Burial Insurance, and How Much Does it Cost in 2024?

Senior Burial Insurance Rates and Companies | What To Expect

Last Updated December 3, 2024

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Elderly couple sitting on a bench

Senior Burial insurance is life insurance that has been designed for seniors. It’s a whole life policy that was meant to cover funeral and end-of-life expenses your family might encounter when you pass away.

On average, most senior burial insurance plans have a face amount cap around $50,000 but this all depends on your age and your current state of health.

A great attribute of burial insurance is that even seniors with pre-existing health conditions can qualify without having to be asked medical questions or take a medical exam.

What's covered by Senior Burial Insurance?

Similar to life insurance, senior burial insurance can cover pretty much anything, really. Mainly, seniors use burial insurance to cover the cost of their funeral and end-of-life costs their family encounters.

In the United States, the average funeral cost is upwards of $10,000. Your funeral costs may include:

-Viewing
-Burial
-Service fees
-Transport
-Casket
-Embalming
-And other preparations

End-of-life costs vary not only on your final wishes but state by state as well. Thankfully, senior burial insurance plans usually go up to $50,000 in coverage and some seniors have multiple policies.

How Much Does Burial Insurance Cost?

Lots of factors go into determining the cost of elderly burial insurance. How old you are, your gender and how much coverage you need.

Usually, the younger you are, the cheaper your policy will be. Below, we are going to compare costs depending on your age, for $10,000 of coverage.

Age Mutual of Omaha Aetna
Age 50
$24.31
$27.30
Age 55
$27.71
$34.39
Age 60
$32.87
$40.51
Age 65
$41.01
$47.60
Age 70
$53.24
$58.19
Age 75
$72.41
$75.86
Age 80
$98.43
$101.41
Age 85
$135.90
$136.67

This 2022 sample quote is based on a healthy female, non-smoking applicant.

As you can see, burial insurance rates change just based on age alone. Luckily, with most companies you can get $10,000 for as little or less than just $1 per day.
Other companies like Colonial Penn or Lincoln Heritage Funeral Advantage, prices start out much higher and have an intense underwriting process. Because of this stressful process and high prices, we don’t contract with those companies. Here at Final Expense Benefits we work with only the top “a” rated burial insurance companies, to bring you peace of mind

How does Senior burial insurance work?

Senior Burial insurance pays your beneficiary a lump sum of money as long has the policy holder made on-time payments.

Once the policy holder passes away, the company would then pay the death benefit amount. Most companies process this in 48 hours.

When compared to term life insurance that can sometimes take months to pay their death benefit, you can trust your loved ones will have the funds, when they need it most.

How do I get Elderly burial insurance?

Simple, call Final Expense Benefits at 1-866-311-4338. Just a few simple questions to have you approved on the same day and your plan starts the next! Our licensed agents are standing by, ready to assist. We specialize in finding the best and cheapest elderly burial insurance that’s available.

Is Elderly burial insurance worth buying?

If you are a senior with no life insurance, pre-existing conditions or a fixed income and don’t want to burden your family with costs and other debts, then yes, elderly burial insurance is worth buying. The last thing anyone want’s is to leave their families with grief and stress of a financial burden.

Types of Elderly Burial Insurance

Level

The most lucrative of Burial Insurance policies, mainly due in part to the fact that this is the most inexpensive policy as you are deemed not a huge risk to insure by the provider. This policy has no waiting periods and contains the lowest monthly premiums in the market. You only qualify for this form of Senior Burial Insurance if you’re in relatively good health and can honestly answer no to most medical questions.

Standard

The second most lucrative policy, you have no waiting period with this policy, but you don’t get the cheapest premium comparatively to a level policy.

Partial

The Middle ground for Senior Burial Insurance, you receive a portion of your death benefit during the first two years if unforeseen circumstances occur.

Modified

The most expensive Senior Burial Insurance option, this option is reserved for those who have concurrent health issues or foresee circumstances occurring in the future.

Guaranteed

You are guaranteed to be approved for this policy, but your rate will be adjusted depending on your specifications and answers to the medical questionnaire questions.

Does Senior burial insurance require a medical exam?

No, most funeral insurance companies do not require a medical exam. In fact, if you take out a guaranteed issue insurance plan, you don’t even have to answer any medical question. This gives many American seniors hope and peace of mind.

Does AARP offer burial insurance?

A common question with AARP, “Does AARP Burial Insurance exist?” to which the answer is no, AARP does not offer senior burial insurance. AARP Burial Insurance does not exist, but instead works with New York Life to offer a guaranteed acceptance life insurance that caps at $25,0000. Compared to the best senior life insurance companies, it has higher monthly premiums.

Things to Consider When Browsing for Elderly Burial Insurance

There are a lot of factors to consider regarding your elderly burial insurance policy, with some being more important than others. Initially, you may want to conclude how much coverage you think you’re after – a good generic amount is $50,000, but can range greatly. Once you have a coverage amount in mind, you can move on from there to understand the other factors present in your policy. 

Other factors to keep in mind include things like,

Your waiting period – is there a waiting period? Is it a standard 2 year waiting period? Does payout occur before this waiting period?

Your monthly premium – Will this ever increase? 

What kind of funeral service you’ll want – More extravagant? Standard? Special perks?

What Questions Should I Ask My Agent?

It’s important to be informed about any potential policy you’re applying for. Good news, insurance agents will be happy and ready to answer any potential insurance related questions you may have, and if they don’t, we recommend you to look elsewhere for assistance. On that note, it’s actually somewhat of a red flag if an insurance agent isn’t thrilled to answer any questions related to the policy you’re purchasing. 

Since the agent will assist you, feel free to ask them any questions regarding your policy. Some potential questions you may want to ask your agent include things like, 

“Does my policy terminate?” or if it’s a term policy, “what is the renewal rate of my policy? Can I renew it forever?” 

“Will my coverage ever decrease in value?”

“Is there a waiting period? How does that work? Do I receive a payout before my waiting period is complete?”

Who has the best burial insurance?

It all depends on your needs.

Different companies offer you different benefits and prices depending on your age, health condition and state you live in. So what might be the best senior burial insurance for someone else, might not be the best one for you.

AARP membership significantly reduces overall costs, as well as incentivizes a lot of benefits. However, the rates provided to non-members, as well as the overall treatment of non-members, really doesn’t entice us personally. 

Regardless of your situation, we at Final Expense Benefits partner with over 20 carriers, with:

 

Being some of the ones that stand out among the crowd. We have closed thousands of cases and will be able to get you to the plan best fit for your budget and specifications. 

Feel Free to call us M-F, 9-5, for a free consultation. Our number is (866) 311-4338

Conclusion

Burial insurance is life insurance that has been specially designed for senior citizens. The type and cost depends on your age and health however, regardless of age and health, their is a burial insurance plan for every senior.

Whether you are on a fixed income, get social security, or have a pre-existing condition, you can get approved the same day and your plan starts the next.