Final Expense Quotes
What is Final Expense Insurance?
To be clear, Final Expense Life Insurance is not a type of insurance but rather, a purpose for insurance. We only bring this up because when you purchase and then receive a Final Expense Life Insurance policy, typically nowhere on the contract will you find the words “final expense.” The policy you purchased, whether whole life, term, or universal life, is intended to pay for the final expenses that you will leave when you eventually die.
What do Final Expenses consist of?
When a person dies, some expenses must be dealt with as a result of that person’s passing. In most cases, these expenses are paid by surviving family members, friends, or the estate of the deceased person.
The expenses can be many things, but in most cases and for most people, final expenses consist of funeral and burial costs, unpaid medical bills, and nursing home or hospice expenses that were not paid by health insurance or Medicaid.
When people purchase a final expense insurance policy, they are typically doing so out of love for surviving family members and friends so they will not assume the burden to pay your final expenses. Legally, they do not have to, but almost always, they will.
For most of us, the last thing we want to leave loved ones and friends is the burden of paying for our funeral and burial or other final expenses. Purchasing final expense insurance is generally considered an act of love.
The amount of Final Expense Insurance you buy is Important
The number one final expense that most people want to cover is the cost of their funeral and burial. These costs have been climbing over the years and there is no legitimate reason to believe that the cost increases will not continue.
According to an article published in September of 2019 by Parting.com, a well-known resource for funeral planning, the average cost of a moderately priced funeral starts at about $9,000 and gets more expensive as optional services are added.
Certainly, funeral costs might be reduced somewhat if the person(s) in charge were to spend time shopping many aspects of the funeral and associated services. It’s important to note that every additional item or service that is added over and above the average cost of a funeral must come out of someone’s pocket. This is why we always recommend that prospective customers purchase additional insurance.
For example, your family may be spread out over the country and if so, some relatives may need help with transportation and hotel costs so they can attend the memorial, funeral service, and burial service.
As far as unpaid medical and nursing home expenses, there is really no way to calculate these in advance so it makes good financial sense to purchase additional coverage to cover these expenses as well. If there is death benefit money left over after all expenses have been paid, the beneficiary can do as they please with the money.
Which kind of Life Insurance works best for a Final Expense Policy?
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, Final Expense Insurance is a “purpose” for an insurance policy and not an actual type of life insurance. Any kind of life insurance can be used for final expense insurance but whole life insurance is the most popular.
- Term Life Insurance – Although term life insurance can be used for final expense insurance, the mere fact that it is considered “temporary” life insurance makes it an unrealistic choice for coverage. Even if your term insurance company agrees to renew your term policy with annually-renewable term insurance, your cost of coverage as you age becomes prohibitive. Additionally, most final expense policies have a death benefit of less than $30,000 and most term insurance companies require that you purchase much more than $30,000.
- Universal Life Insurance – Even though universal life insurance is considered permanent life insurance, most companies will not issue a policy for less than $50,000 and if they will, the underwriting requirements are more strict than final expense insurance. Additionally, whole life final expense insurance can be purchased without regard to medical conditions.
- Whole Life Insurance – We believe that whole life insurance is the best fit for final expense insurance. It provides permanent life insurance for a lifetime. It can never be canceled for any reason other than nonpayment. The premiums cannot be increased by the insurance company for any reason and the policy builds cash value over time that can be accessed by the policy owner via policy loans or withdrawals.
No Medical Exam Requirement
One of the top concerns for individuals considering life insurance is the underwriting process. Many applicants are against medical exams, blood tests, and in-depth questions about personal health history and family member health history.
This is not the case with Final Expense Insurance. The insurance companies offering whole life final expense insurance understand that this product is purchased by individuals 50-years old and older and understand that medical issues will likely be present on every application.
Knowing this, insurance companies that offer final expense insurance have liberal medical underwriting standards, do not require a medical exam or blood/urine tests, and most offer two or three types of coverage to accommodate applicants with multiple health issues and even severe health issues.
Level Benefit Final Expense Insurance
The level benefit policy is typically issued for applicants that have minimal health issues and as such, the premiums can be very affordable, even without a medical exam. Although a medical exam is not required, there is still significant underwriting information collected using your MIB report, Script Check, and health questions on the application.
Graded Benefit Final Expense Insurance
Graded benefit final expense insurance is designed for those applicants who do not medically qualify for Level Benefit final expense insurance. With the graded benefit, if the policyholder dies within the first two or three years of coverage because of natural causes, the beneficiary will receive a reduced death benefit.
Guaranteed Issue Final Expense Insurance
A guaranteed issue or guaranteed acceptance policy is designed for applicants with multiple health issues and cannot qualify for a level benefit or graded benefit plan. Guaranteed Issue Final Expense Insurance policies are issued without regard to medical history or status. Additionally, there are no health questions on the application.
Similar to a graded benefit plan, there is a two or three year waiting period before the insurance company will pay the full death benefit for death caused by natural causes. Typically the death benefit during the waiting period equals the sum of all premiums paid plus an additional 10 to 20%.
Since the premiums for a guaranteed issue policy are much higher than the level or graded benefit policy, applicants should consider guaranteed issue final expense insurance as a last resort.
Get an Online Quote for Final Expense Insurance in Minutes
Now that you are more familiar with final expense life insurance, or burial insurance plan, you’re ready to start looking for a policy. With our help, you can get final expense insurance quotes from dozens of top-rated companies quickly and easily. Simply complete our short quote form and review your quotes, then instantly submit your application.
You’ll have a brief phone interview after you apply; the answers to the simple questions you give during this phone interview will influence the costs you will pay for your insurance plan. In some cases, you’ll have an approval decision within 48 hours and sometimes, sooner.
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Get started today to find an excellent final expense insurance plan now. Call us toll-free at 866-691-0100, email us or go straight to our instant life insurance quote form.
Here are Final Expense Insurance Companies that we recommend:
American National
Gerber Life
American General Life Insurance