Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period and How To Get It

Our Secret Guide On Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period and How To Get It

Last Updated October 9, 2024

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You may have heard the phrase,  “Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period!”

But what is Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period?

No waiting period implies that your beneficiaries will receive the entire immediate death benefit as soon as the policy is instated, even if you were to die the next day.

Some policies have a modified waiting period, or none at all.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about:

  • how to avoid waiting periods
  • the difference between burial insurance and life insurance with no waiting period
  • how to get the best policy for you, for the least amount of money


and more.

Let’s dive in.

What Is Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period?

Burial Insurance with no waiting period, or Final Expense Insurance, is the type of insurance that’s in place to cover the funeral costs after your passing.

  • Final Expense Insurance is a whole life insurance policy meaning it will remain instated so long as premiums are paid.
  • Final expense coverage usually exists as a simplified issue plan, meaning that you are approved regardless of any previous medical conditions, 99% of the time.
  • The premiums are also generally low (depending on the condition of the applicant). 

While final expense coverage is generally used to cover funeral/burial costs, one may use the funds in any way desired.

In this way, some brokers claim that there is essentially no difference between final expense insurance and another regular Whole Life Insurance Policy. In a way, this is true, as either way you’re relieving any potential financial burdens regardless of your coverage.

Additionally, these plans can coexist with Medicaid, depending on your total assets.

If said assets are too high to qualify, one may withdraw and use these funds to purchase additional coverage or what have you, maximizing your beneficiaries’ payout.

What Does Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period Mean?

Burial Insurance with no waiting period essentially means that if death prematurely occurs before the two year period, the payout associated with your policy will still be administered to the beneficiary listed on your policy. There are no stipulations regarding the time frame in which these unfortunate circumstances occur if there is no waiting period, meaning that if you died the day after your policy was instituted, the full payout would still be received.

Generally, to qualify for no waiting period you must be in above average health, implying no to almost no underlying health conditions.

Although this may seem daunting, 

most people actually qualify for “first-day-coverage” plans (no waiting period)

as long as you explore your options and align yourself with an agent you can trust.

If you’re in need of an agent, we encourage you to fill out the quote tool on the right hand side of this page, as at Final Expense Benefits, we specialize in providing our clients with the information most people don’t want you to know, so that you may make the informed decision for yourself instead of having someone make that decision for you. 

How Do I Qualify For Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period?

To qualify for Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period, you’re going to be given one of two options, with those both revolving around the insurance provider assessing your risk to the company via a series of health questions in the form of a:

medical questionnaire, 

or 

an in-person examination with a medical professional.

Obviously, the medical questionnaire is going to be less demanding than an examination, although you must provide the truth to your knowledge regarding both, as the company providing your coverage is easily able to confirm with your records.

Life Insurance With No Waiting Period Vs Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period

Life Insurance comes in many forms, usually centering around the way in which you qualify or what your goal is. For example, a term life insurance policy usually has rigorous underwriting and a medical examination, but you do receive the most lucrative rate in the insurance realm.

Type of Life Insurance
Term
Permanent
Term
Yes
No
Whole
No
Yes
Universal
No
Yes
Variable
No
Yes
Burial Insurance
No
Yes
Group
Yes
No
AD&D
Yes
No
Simplified Issue
No
Yes

Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance

A Guaranteed Acceptance Life Insurance policy does exactly what it says, in that you are guaranteed to be accepted to this policy type. The tradeoff is that you’re assumed to be a moderate risk to the company immediately, and are therefore given a rate that someone at risk would receive. 

Term Life Plan

A Term Life Insurance policy is a policy that exists in terms, requiring that you renew it when it expires. The terms generally exist in 5 year benefits. This policy type has an immediate death benefit and a medical exam. Term life insurance with no waiting period contains the most lucrative rate relative to your monthly premium.

Whole Life Insurance Policy

A Whole Life Insurance policy is one that is instated throughout the lifetime of the consumer, remaining indefinitely so long as premiums are paid.

Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period

Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period, otherwise known as Final Expense Insurance, is in fact a form of whole life insurance with no waiting period, as it remains in force throughout the lifetime of the client so long as premiums are maintained.

The Three Main Differences

The three main differences between Burial Insurance and a generic Whole Life Insurance policy is as follows:

  • Burial Insurance with No Waiting Period generally contains a lower maximum than your average whole life insurance policy in return for a cheaper monthly premium.
  • Burial Insurance with No Waiting Period does not contain a cash value until it is paid, meaning it does accrue interest, nor does it count as an asset when applying for other things. 
  • Burial Insurance with No Waiting Period does not allow for you to withdraw your payout early without canceling the policy in the process. 

Medical Exam vs. Medical Questionnaire?

Most Insurance policies require at the bare minimum you fill out a medical questionnaire so that they may assess the risk level associated with insuring you.  

A Medical questionnaire may be the easier option of the two, but both are going to require that you answer/participate with your health as honestly and correctly as possible. Intentionally falsifying your answers is not a great idea in any circumstance, as the provider can easily and efficiently confirm this via your medical records.

A Medical Exam also *usually* implies that your premium will be less, or the waiting period non-existent – with the hard part being qualifying or “passing” the exam. 

Key Takeaway: Insurance policies without a medical exam or health questions will result in a waiting period. 

– Height/Weight

– Habits (smoking, drinking, etc.)

Pre-existing Conditions

Physical Inspection –

Blood/Urine Sample –

Heartbeat/Breathing –

Sample Questionnaire
2022 burial insurance with no waiting period [sample questionnaire]

What Conditions Will Disqualify Me From Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period?

Unfortunately, some medical conditions will guarantee a waiting period.

The good news is,

Not a lot of chronic conditions disqualify you from coverage.

A few examples include, but are not limited to:

  • AIDS/HIV
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Cancer within the last 12 months.
  • Dialysis
  • Stroke/Heart attack within the last 12 months.
  • Extreme obesity


There are some conditions that may not disqualify you from coverage but will guarantee your rate will increase if a medical exam/questionnaire is involved. 

What Is A Graded Death Benefit?

A Graded Death Benefit, or “Partial Waiting Period” implies that only a portion of your death benefit may be paid out to beneficiaries before the end of the two year period. Graded death benefits exist as a feature respective to permanent whole life insurance policies. 

The relative ratio to coverage amount you may receive depends on the provider

  • Year 1: applicable for up to 40% of death benefit.
  • Year 2: up to 70% of death benefit. 
  • After Year 2: 100$ of death benefit.

Graded Death Benefits will always be accompanied by a higher monthly premium, as you’re immediately considered a higher risk to the company. 

Just as with burial insurance with no waiting period, graded death benefits require that you complete a medical questionnaire meant to assess your relative risk level. 

It’s Important to Note: Although it’s still a type of waiting period, graded death benefits are always more lucrative than a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy.

What is “Guaranteed Approval”?

A guaranteed life insurance policy does exactly what you’d expect it to do,

providing guaranteed acceptance to those that apply. 

This insurance policy specializes in accepting all applicants, regardless of

Guaranteed Acceptance With No Waiting Period?

Unfortunately, there is not policy out there that simultaneously has no health questions, and no waiting period. 

All Guaranteed Acceptance Whole Life Policies will have a two-year waiting period minimum, as this is the associated risk when insuring someone automatically regardless of their physical condition and/or habits.

How Does Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period Assess My Risk?

Similar to a BMI chart, or other indication system

Burial Insurance providers will assess the risk you pose to them via their own rankings

This chart is divided into five subsections, indicating an increasing risk the further you descend. 

  • Preferred plus: This is the category reserved for those in pristine physical condition – you will not qualify for this category if you’re overweight, have pre-existing conditions, or have used tobacco within the last 12 months. 
  • Preferred: The second highest category, the preferred class is reserved for those that are just barely unable to qualify for preferred plus, such as if you’re barely overweight, have a light tobacco habit, or other like minded factors that will still demonstrate that you’re in good health. 
  • Standard plus: The middle of the road, where the vast majority of those that apply will see themselves. This section involves moderate-good health, including those with a negative family history or pre-existing condition but are in otherwise great health. 
  • Standard: The second lowest rating,where someone who is just below the middle ground for a person’s physical status. This is usually the category where the obese, chronic tobacco user, etc., would see themselves. 
  • Table ratings: The category reserved for those considered “high risk”. This is a rating where your weight, habits, pre-existing conditions, what have you, are not enough to place you here alone. Rather, it’s the culmination of all of the above. 


Some conditions will automatically place you in a specific category, as providers will usually place minimum/maximum weight and height restrictions on each rating. 

Your age, habits, and pre-existing conditions may also automatically grant you a specific rating. 

Spoiler Alert: Not all providers are the same, some will place emphasis on different aspects and ask you different questions. You may be able to qualify for one provider and not another using the same information.

Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period Pros & Cons

Pros

You’re offered a medical questionnaire over an exam. A medical questionnaire is much easier to handle vs an entire medical exam, as the exam paints a more extensive picture as to your physical condition. 

It’s a Whole Life Insurance Policy. A whole life insurance policy remains instated throughout the remainder of the policy-holder’s lifetime, so long as premiums are paid each month. 

Low monthly premium relative to your total coverage amount. Relative to your average whole life insurance policy, the monthly premium you can expect to see regarding your burial insurance policy is going to be much lower than another generic whole life insurance policy.

Cons

Large amounts of coverage are unavailable. Generally, the most you can expect to receive regarding burial insurance with no waiting period is going to be $50,000, whereas most whole life insurance policies go much higher than this. 

No medical exam, which could possibly qualifying you for a competitive rate. A medical exam is simultaneously a way to qualify or disqualify you from your desired coverage/rate
– depending on your physical condition. 

Burial Insurance with no waiting period is hard to qualify for.Generally qualifying for burial insurance with no waiting period requires that you pass a medical questionnaire/exam with around 90% efficiency. This is generally reserved for those with a very low risk posed to the provider.

How Do I Qualify For Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period?

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you have choices, and don’t have to align yourself with a specific insurance provider. We’d actually recommend exploring as many options as possible if you’re unsure of how to receive the most competitive rate possible. 

All insurance companies don’t ask the same questions on their questionnaire, in fact, underwriting commonly changes depending on the provider requesting the information. 

The three things to keep in mind when browsing for burial insurance with no waiting period,

  • Know what to expect. Although every questionnaire is different, you can still understand the gist of the questions you will be asked. All applications will ask you about your tobacco use, pre-existing conditions, health problems, what have you, so make sure you’re confident in answering said questions. 
  • Align yourself with an agent/brokerage you can trust.  Make sure you’re comfortable moving forward with whatever agent you communicate with. Again, you have choices, and can always choose another agent/provider. 
  • Have a policy in mind. The underwriting for a guaranteed acceptance policy is going to be tremendously different from a term policy, or for burial insurance with no waiting period (as the guaranteed acceptance policy does not even have underwriting)


We encourage you to utilize the quote tool to the right hand side of this screen if you’d like to see a cost and consultation free quote.

How Much Does Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period Cost?

Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period is surprisingly inexpensive

It’s quite possible to achieve a monthly premium of less than $50 for $50,000 in coverage

Below is a chart meant to demonstrate the average price one may expect to see a month if they follow the respective criteria.

Company 50 y/o Male 50 y/o Female 60 y/o Male 60 y/o Female 70 y/o Male 70 y/o Female
$34
$27
$51
$40
$73
$58
$39
$34
$52
$41
$86
$65
$30
$24
$43
$32
$74
$53
$36
$30
$47
$37
$81
$60
$55
$38
$68
$53
$106
$80

These figures were obtained from the NFDA and are estimates only. For a detailed quote, please contact an agent. Rates are based on one $9.95/month unit. 

Our Picks For Burial Insurance With No Waiting Period

  1.  

Our top pick when it comes to Burial Insurance with no waiting period. Mutual of Omaha makes the top spot on our list because of their insanely easy going underwriting process, allowing for many pre-existing conditions, tobacco use, etc, and still providing coverage at a competitive rate.

Monthly Premium: $34.51*

2.  

Coming in at #2, we have AIG. AIG offers a wide variety of products while still maintaining a relatively easy underwriting process and a low monthly premium.

Monthly Premium: $37.65*

3.  

And finally, we have prosperity. Prosperity offers a fair rate as well as easy going underwriting.

Monthly Premium: $37.65*

all premiums were calculated at $10,000 in coverage using a 61 year old woman, weight: 180 lbs height: 5’4, pre-existing conditions: diabetes.  

Final Thoughts

We hope that after reading this guide, you feel more confident moving forward, and that it’s more than possible to achieve burial insurance with no waiting period, even with health conditions.

-You have options! Don’t settle.

-Keep in mind what you will be asked on a medical questionnaire, with this centering around your habits, pre-existing conditions, medications, height, and weight. 

-Keep in mind what policy you’d like, or your options if your first choice doesn’t work out. Guaranteed acceptance is always an option for those who find themselves struggling to qualify.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for life insurance with no waiting period to pay for a funeral?

Generally, you will receive payment from your provider between 14 and 60 days after the claim has been submitted.

What type of life insurance doesn’t have a waiting period?

Term life insurance with no waiting period, as well as rarely whole life insurance with no waiting period. Every guaranteed acceptance policy will have a waiting period.

Does Trustage have a two year waiting period?

They do not if you’re able to answer yes to the questions proposed in the underwriting of their term application.

Does Mutual of Omaha have a two year waiting period?

Yes, but this may be avoided if you can answer no to all of the questions proposed in “part 2” of their application.