9 Best Burial Insurance Companies in 2024

The best burial insurance companies are going to be Mutual of Omaha, American Amicable, Prosperity Life, Royal Neighbors of America, Aetna, Transamerica, Guarantee Trust Life, Gerber, and AIG.

In this article we have numbered each of these companies based on their underwriting and benefits of their products to provide a comprehensive list of the best burial insurance companies available to seniors.

Each of these companies provide whole life insurance as burial insurance plans. Whole life insurance as burial insurance is designed to provide a quick death benefit payment to the named beneficiary on the life insurance policy so they can pay the funeral expenses.

This protects your family from any kind of financial burden that will result from paying funeral expenses.

Now heres the thing a lot of burial life insurance companies market guaranteed acceptance life insurance to seniors exclusively. Now guaranteed issue life insurance comes with an automatic 2 year waiting period for the full death benefit.

This means you would have to pay into that policy for 2 years before the full death benefit would be paid to your family.

The best burial insurance companies should not automatically put you in a final expense policy like this. This is why our agents make sure to connect you with one of the best burial insurance companies listed below to avoid a waiting period if possible.

If you have AIDS, Dementia, COPD with Heart Disease at the same time, Organ transplant, Cancer, Kidney Dialysis or any other major end stage disease you will have to get a 2 year waiting period policy.

Now if your health is more moderate like heart disease diagnosed over 2 years ago with no complications then it is possible to avoid waiting periods.

Key Benefits for The Best Burial Insurance Companies

The key benefits for whole life insurance for funeral expenses are very simple.

Benefits

• Premium Payments Never Increase
• Death Benefit Never Decreases
• No Medical Exam Required
• Minimal Health Questions

These key benefits should be available on all burial insurance plans but unfortunately this is not always the case. Term life insurance gets marketed as a final expense policy in some cases which means the term policy will expire and if you outlive it you will not have any funeral insurance.

This is why whole life insurance which is a permanent life insurance policy is what you need for a true final expense policy. That is the type of policy that will always be there when your family needs it most for the funeral costs.

If you do have whole life insurance then the premiums will stay locked in for the life of the policy and the death benefit will never decrease. The whole life insurance policy stays level your entire life.

Burial insurance is also simplified underwriting which means there is no medical exam required.

There are only health questions and a medical/prescription check required to be approved with the life insurance companies.

Now we have listed below the top life insurance companies that sell the best burial insurance available to seniors. We have numbered them according to our professional opinion based on the life insurance policy they offer for funeral insurance.

Mutual of Omaha Final Expense Insurance #1

• Underwriting: Strict
• Rates: Lowest compared to most life insurance companies
• Covered Age Range: 45-85
• Graded Death Benefit Plan Age Range: 45-80
• Level Plan Death Benefit: $2,000 – $40,000
• Graded Death Benefit Plan: $2,000 – $20,000

Mutual of Omaha ranks #1 on our list of life insurance companies because their rates are extremely low compare to other life insurance companies.

This is because their underwriting is a little more strict that the other burial life insurance companies we are going to mention.

If you are in optimal health with minor issues such as type 2 diabetes or moderate health issues Mutual of Omaha life insurance company is perfect for you.

American Amicable Final Expense Insurance #2

• Underwriting: Liberal
• Rates: Competitively priced, best for Tobacco rates
• Covered Age Ranges: 50-85
• Immediate Death Benefit for Ages 50-75: $2,500 – $35,000
• Immediate Death Benefit for Ages 76-85: $2,500 – $20,000
• Graded Death Benefit for Ages 50-85: $2,500 – $20,000

American Amicable life insurance company ranks #2 on our list because their underwriting is extremely liberal which means getting approved is much easier.

Now their premium rates are higher than Mutual of Omaha but if you have COPD diagnosed over 3 years ago with no inhalers or treatment since then you can be approved for immediate coverage.

Mutual of Omaha would just simply decline you but American Amicable would approve you.

This goes to show how picking the right life insurance company that fits your particular situation is key to getting the best burial insurance.

This is why working with a broker like us so we can ask about these specific health issues for funeral insurance is key to you getting the best burial insurance policy.

Another unique feature when it comes to this life insurance company is that you can contest a denial from the company. If they deny you based on a health condition you never had you can communicate this to your agent and possibly get the decision over turned and get coverage.

This is something you would work with your agent on for the burial insurance policy.

Prosperity Life Insurance Final Expense Insurance #3

• Underwriting: Liberal particularly friendly to Heart Conditions
• Rates: Competitively priced
• Covered Age Ranges: 50-80
• Coverage Amount: $1,500 – $35,000 (Can vary by state)

Prosperity is one of our top burial insurance products it ranks #3 for us because it is perfect for heart condition life insurance.

The underwriting niche of this carrier is that if you have heart conditions diagnosed over 2 years ago with no complications since diagnosis there is a very strong chance of being approved.

We have seen several of our clients diagnosed with heart disease get approved for this product with no waiting periods. Most agencies and brokers will put you in a whole life insurance policy with a graded death benefit if you have heart disease.

This is because most companies will not approve a whole life insurance policy for someone with heart disease’s.

Prosperity life can take individuals with these health issues provided the issues are minimal. This is why if you have heart conditions and need funeral insurance for your funeral costs Prosperity final expense is the best burial insurance company to apply with.

Royal Neighbors of America Final Expense Insurance #4

• Underwriting: Liberal, friendly to lung conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Rates: Higher compared to other’s
• Covered Age Range: 50-85
• Coverage Amount: $5,000 – $25,000

Royal Neighbors does have higher rates when compared to other companies but we rank them #4 because they are friendly to breathing conditions.

Particularly towards COPD, there is a very strong chance they will approve you for funeral insurance with no waiting period depending on their underwriting.

If you have breathing conditions Royal Neighbors if your best shot when applying for funeral insurance.

Aetna Accendo Final Expense Insurance #5

• Underwriting: Strict
• Rates: Competitively Priced
• Covered Age Range Level Benefits: 40-89
• Covered Age Range Graded Benefits: 40-75
• Level Death Benefit Amount Ages 40-55: $2,000 – $50,000
• Level Death Benefit Amount Ages 56-65: $2,000 – $40,000
• Level Death Benefit Amount Ages 66-75: $2,000 – $30,000
• Level Death Benefit Amount Ages 76-89: $2,000 – $25,000
• Graded Death Benefit Amount Ages 40-75: $2,000 – $25,000

Aetna Accendo is #5 on our list because we find their underwriting rather strict but they can also offer funeral insurance to individuals with COPD at a higher premium rate.

The good news is while you may pay a higher rate with Aetna there is no waiting period for your loved ones to receive the death benefit and pay funeral costs.

Aetna is another top burial insurance company if you have COPD to apply with.

TransAmerica Final Expense Insurance #6

• Underwriting: Strict
• Covered Age Ranges: 55-85
• Death Benefit Amount: Up to $55,000 depending on Age Ranges
• Rates: Very low and competitively priced

TransAmerica insurance company ranks at our #6 spot due to the strict underwriting for their life insurance policies.

Part of having very low monthly premium rates is the life insurance policies also having strict underwriting which means you need to be in optimal health to get approved with the insurance company.

If you are in optimal health and want the lowest rate possible TransAmerica is the insurance company for you.

Graded and Guaranteed Issue Best Life Insurance Companies

Now these last 3 are for consumers with severe health issues that cannot get life insurance coverage with the other companies above. These are the best companies for life insurance coverage with a waiting period.

This is called graded death benefits which means there is a certain amount of time that must pass before death benefits will be paid out so your family can pay the funeral expenses.

These final expense insurance companies offer the best burial insurance policies with a waiting period. If you are in extremely poor health you will be able to get a life insurance plan to cover burial costs with one of these companies.

Guarantee Trust Life Insurance #1

• Underwriting: Extremely liberal only a few health questions
• Covered Age Ranges: 50-90
• Benefit Amount for Age 50-85: $2,500 – $20,000
• Benefit Amount for Age 86-90: $2,500 – $10,000
• Waiting Period: After year 1 50% of Death Benefit, After year 2 100% of death benefit
• Rates: Much higher compared to level policies

Guarantee Trust Life is unique with their policy because it is not a full two year waiting period. Instead what they do is pay half of the benefit when you get through the first year of your waiting periods.

It is basically a borderline guaranteed issue burial insurance plan for high risk health conditions. This means if you die within the waiting period your family still gets half the money to pay the funeral expenses.

This is one of the most unique borderline guaranteed issue burial insurance policies considering the partial waiting period instead of the full waiting period normally on policies. The health questions are also very minimal, there are only 6 health questions on the application.

If you are still relatively healthy we recommend applying for one of their burial insurance policies.

Gerber Life Insurance Company #2

• Underwriting: None Guaranteed Acceptance
• Covered Age Ranges:50-80 (50-75 in NY)
• Benefit Amount: $5,000 – $25,000
• Waiting Period: Full 2 year wait
• Rates: Lowest compared to other Guaranteed Acceptance Products

Gerber Life insurance is hands down one of the cheapest if not the cheapest guaranteed issue burial insurance policies available to seniors.

This would be our only recommended final expense insurance company for guaranteed acceptance considering the amount of money you save on the premiums.

Now this does have a full waiting period considering you cannot be denied. This means you want to start your life policy as soon as possible so it will pay the end of life expenses for things like your medical bills, funeral and burial costs.

AIG Life Insurance #3

• Underwriting: None Guaranteed Acceptance
• Covered Age Range: 50-80
• Benefit Amount: $5,000 – $25,000
• Waiting Period: Full 2 yea wait
• Rates: Moderately expensive compared to other guaranteed issue products
• Living Benefits

American General Life Insurance Guaranteed Issue is more expensive than Gerber but they do offer living benefits. If you become chronically ill or terminally ill the burial insurance coverage will offer additional benefits.

This means not only does the policy pay funeral and burial expenses when you die but can also help you while you are alive if you become sick.

That is why AIG made it on our list of the best burial life insurance companies for seniors.

Who Has The Best Burial Insurance?

Mutual of Omaha has the best burial insurance for individuals in optimal health. Now if you have different health conditions then you will want to apply for other life insurance policies that fit with your conditions. It all depends on your age, health and life style.

This is why working with a brokerage like us allows our agents to shop the market for you to make the best recommendations for your situation.

Which Burial Insurance Companies Don’t Have A Waiting Period?

Burial Insurance Companies that don’t have a waiting period are:

• Mutual of Omaha
• American Amicable
• Prosperity Life
• Aetna Accendo
• TransAmerica
• Royal Neighbors of America