Best Burial, Final & Funeral Insurance for Seniors
Posted in Burial Insurance last updated on October 18, 2023Burial Insurance is largely marketed and directed towards seniors.
The reason for this is because seniors are at a point in their life where they know the cost of a funeral is not only high but inevitably going to fall on their family to take care of their final wishes. You don’t want to burden your family with your funeral expenses.
It provides a fast payout within days of receiving a death certificate. These insurance companies can either have a 2 year waiting period for benefits or day one coverage immediate benefit. Which is what we specialize in! This is true burial insurance for seniors.
We have also covered burial insurance for seniors age 60, burial insurance age 70, burial insurance age 80
In the article, we will discuss the marketing names for these policies, the average costs, age ranges for these policies, and much more!
Be sure to check out our articles on approved health conditions like HIV, Cancer, COPD, CHF, Hodgkins Lymphoma,
Table of contents
- Burial Insurance for Seniors Defined
- Cost Comparison for Burial Insurance for Seniors
- Best Burial Insurance Companies for Seniors
- Worst Burial Life Insurance Companies for Seniors
- What is the Age Limit for Burial Insurance?
- What are The Benefits of Burial Insurance for Seniors?
- What is The Difference Between Burial and Funeral Insurance?
- Final Expense Life Insurance Covers Funeral Expenses
- How Much is Life insurance?
- Burial Insurance Sample Quotes for Ages 19 – 91
- Buying Burial Insurance for Someone Else
- Affordable Burial Insurance for Seniors Which Company?
- Average Life Insurance Cost
- Life Insurance with Pre-Existing Conditions
- Life Insurance & Burial Insurance Which is Better?
- Burial Costs
- Life Insurance for Seniors over 75
- Burial Insurance Quotes for Seniors
- Cremation Insurance for Seniors
- FAQ’s
Burial Insurance for Seniors Defined
Burial insurance is simplified issue whole life insurance and guaranteed issue life insurance for final expenses(funeral insurance, final expense insurance etc.).
These policies require no medical exam and offer a death benefit to your beneficiary.
These terms all relatively mean the same thing to cover a burial, cremation, and any end-of-life expenses to protect your family from a huge financial burden. The policies come from a life insurance company that you would be making regular premium payments on.
The coverage typically ranges between $1000 – $50,000. Your family can use this benefit to purchase everything for the funeral from the burial plot to the headstone and pay the preacher and other services. This is ideal burial insurance for seniors.
With average funeral costs ranging from $8000 – $12000 and inflation on the rise… These policies are perfect for protecting your family.
Cost Comparison for Burial Insurance for Seniors
Below is a table comparing costs for burial insurance between different life insurance companies. To the left are burial insurance quotes for female seniors and to the right are quotes for male seniors. This is meant to help you compare the costs of burial insurance for seniors with different companies.
Keep in mind that it is not just about price but also health conditions. The following companies below may be cheaper but it is also about which companies will approve your health conditions.
| Company | 50 Year Old $15,000 M/F | 60 Year Old $15,000 M/F | 70 Year Old $15,000 M/F | 80 Year Old $15,000 M/F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $34 – $44 | $47 – $64 | $78 – $110 | $146 – $207 |
 | $38 – $46 | $56 – $69 | $89 – $116 | $169 – $232 |
 | $37 – $45 | $48 – $63 | $79 – $110 | $154 – $208 |
 | $39 – $49 | $59 – $74 | $85 – $107 | $150 – $208 |
 | $41 – $49 | $52 – $66 | $86 – $117 | $145 – $220 |
 | $51 – $59 | $57 – $75 | $85 – $114 | $175 – $237 |
 | $54 – $46 | $51 – $66 | $76 – $104 | $165 – $218 |
 | $51 – $65 | $76 – $95 | $112 – $148 | $264 – $370 |
 | $55 – $80 | $79 – $64 | $116 – $153 | $266 – $366 |
 | $56 – $82 | $79 – $101 | $119 – $158 | $283 – $308 |
 | $72 – $87 | $97 – $111 | $151 – $177 | $284 – $340 |
Best Burial Insurance Companies for Seniors
We have listed the best burial insurance companies for seniors below. Each company offers affordable burial insurance for seniors with specific underwriting niches.
- Mutual of Omaha
- Prosperity Life
- Greek Catholic Union
- American Amicable
- Aetna
- Great Western
- Guarantee Trust Life
- Transamerica
- Royal Neighbors of America
- Gerber
- AIG
When it comes to the best burial insurance company, any of these will do.
Their rates vary depending on age, health and life style.
Fill out the form to your right to see pricing.
Do not purchase Colonial Penn for cremation insurance, their plans are typically guaranteed issue policies with a 2 year waiting period for death benefits.
Worst Burial Life Insurance Companies for Seniors
We are going to list the worst life insurance companies for seniors to get final expense insurance. These companies have are over priced, have marketing gimmicks and overall a bad deal.
What is the Age Limit for Burial Insurance?
The age limit for burial insurance is between ages 19 – 90 years old. You cannot apply for burial insurance after 90 years old there is no life insurance company that will accept you at that age. This is why you need to get burial insurance as soon as possible in your younger senior years to lock in a low premium rate.
What are The Benefits of Burial Insurance for Seniors?
Below is going to be a table listing all of the benefits of burial insurance. The benefits that burial insurance offers will protect your family from high priced funeral services.
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Level Premiums | Burial insurance Premiums never increase for the life of the policy |
| Level Death Benefit | Burial Insurance Death benefit never decreases for the life of the policy |
| Coverage Never Expires | Policy never expires as long as premiums are paid |
| Cash Value | Premiums paid into the policy build an additional savings to the policy’s face amount that can be borrowed against |
| Tax-Free Death Benefit | The Death Benefit to your beneficiary is 100% tax free |
| Peace of Mind | Burial, funeral and cremation expenses are all covered which gives you peace of mind |
| No Medical Exams | No medical exams required to qualify. You only answer health questions. |
| Financial Security | Burial Insurance provides the money to pay your funeral costs so your family does not have the financial burden placed on them to pay burial expenses. |
| Easy Underwriting | Burial Insurance is easy to qualify for. Even seniors with moderate health conditions can get a low premium. |
| Instant Decision | Burial Insurance uses instant decision during the application process. This means when you apply you will receive a decision of approval or denial right after the application is submitted. |
What is The Difference Between Burial and Funeral Insurance?
There is no difference between burial and funeral insurance they both refer to final expense life insurance. A final expense life insurance policy is a small whole life policy between $2,000 – $40,000 in death benefit. It is designed for end of life expenses such as funeral and cremation.
Final Expense Life Insurance Covers Funeral Expenses
This is arguably the most well-known name for simplified issue whole life insurance also known as burial insurance, funeral insurance, cremation insurance, etc. Final expense life insurance for seniors is designed specifically to cover funeral expenses such as the burial plot so there is no financial burdens put on your family when you die.
These policies typically can also contain living benefits. Living benefits are benefits such as an accelerated death benefit, meaning if you were to become terminally ill the policy would allow you to use the death benefit early for things like helping with the hospital bills or even experimental treatments normal health insurance would not cover. Which is a key function of burial insurance for seniors.
These policies do have health questions they would ask to check your insurability but with no medical exam getting instant approval is becomes very simple.
Also, whole life insurance is much more straightforward than guaranteed universal life insurance. You name almost anyone your beneficiary even a funeral home.
Quick Tip: To see life insurance quotes for these policies fill out the form to your right.
How Much is Life insurance?
The cost of life insurance varies on a few factors such as age health and lifestyle. There is no set price for these plans. A ballpark for these plans could range between $50 – $100 typically.
Pre-existing conditions all play a factor in determining the cost of insurance. While these policies do not require a medical exam they do still have underwriting and risk assessment. That being said this burial insurance for seniors is liberal on their underwriting.
This is why we are experts at finding insurance companies that will give you day one coverage despite some possible preexisting conditions. In some cases, the truth is your health could put you in a graded or modified health class.
This is still ok it just simply means that there could be a time period on receiving benefits. but after that time the funeral expenses will be covered. The actual face amount of the policy will affect the cost as well.
For instance, a $5000 policy would be a much lower premium than a $40,000 policy. The key is to match the policy benefit and double it to adjust for inflation as the cost of a funeral goes up.
The use of tobacco also affects the cost of insurance, not only does it take a toll on your health but smoking can also increase your premiums by 20%! A life insurance company classifies smokers as a higher risk therefore premiums will be higher.
Burial Insurance Sample Quotes for Ages 19 – 91
We have taken some burial insurance quotes both for seniors and final expense insurance for young adults. These quotes come directly from our quoting tools and will give you a comprehensive idea about the burial insurance costs for seniors in individual age ranges.
| Age | $10,000 Male Non Smoker | $10,000 Male Smoker | $10,000 Female Non Smoker | $10,000 Female Smoker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | $12.87 | $16.59 | $12.03 | $13.74 |
| 20 | $13.19 | $17.02 | $12.13 | $15.40 |
| 21 | $13.50 | $17.46 | $12.74 | $17.02 |
| 22 | $14.17 | $18.18 | $13.06 | $17.05 |
| 23 | $14.54 | $18.51 | $13.77 | $17.08 |
| 24 | $15.43 | $19.19 | $15.16 | $17.10 |
| 25 | $15.95 | $20.00 | $15.28 | $17.39 |
| 26 | $16.28 | $20.83 | $15.40 | $17.69 |
| 27 | $16.61 | $21.75 | $15.51 | $17.95 |
| 28 | $16.92 | $22.15 | $15.61 | $18.22 |
| 29 | $17.25 | $22.54 | $15.73 | $18.48 |
| 30 | $17.57 | $23.07 | $16.09 | $19.06 |
| 31 | $17.97 | $23.60 | $16.45 | $19.66 |
| 32 | $19.84 | $24.25 | $16.79 | $20.21 |
| 33 | $20.34 | $25.00 | $17.12 | $20.75 |
| 34 | $20.93 | $25.83 | $17.45 | $21.28 |
| 35 | $21.53 | $26.59 | $17.99 | $21.89 |
| 36 | $22.14 | $27.37 | $18.54 | $22.50 |
| 37 | $22.84 | $28.18 | $19.06 | $23.08 |
| 38 | $23.54 | $29.08 | $19.55 | $23.62 |
| 39 | $24.34 | $29.87 | $20.05 | $24.18 |
| 40 | $23.13 | $30.66 | $20.70 | $24.98 |
| 41 | $23.62 | $31.43 | $19.75 | $25.80 |
| 42 | $24.11 | $32.21 | $19.93 | $26.57 |
| 43 | $24.64 | $32.93 | $20.10 | $27.30 |
| 44 | $25.18 | $33.41 | $20.38 | $28.03 |
| 45 | $25.79 | $34.00 | $20.88 | $28.80 |
| 46 | $26.43 | $34.57 | $21.43 | $29.55 |
| 47 | $27.10 | $35.17 | $22.01 | $28.06 |
| 48 | $27.71 | $35.58 | $22.33 | $28.56 |
| 49 | $27.35 | $38.27 | $21.78 | $29.22 |
| 50 | $28.29 | $39.47 | $23.56 | $30.14 |
| 51 | $29.26 | $40.77 | $24.48 | $31.06 |
| 52 | $30.31 | $42.22 | $25.09 | $32.72 |
| 53 | $31.47 | $43.83 | $25.62 | $34.54 |
| 54 | $32.77 | $45.44 | $26.26 | $38.99 |
| 55 | $34.25 | $48.12 | $27.11 | $40.85 |
| 56 | $35.88 | $52.06 | $28.20 | $42.71 |
| 57 | $37.69 | $54.25 | $29.51 | $42.30 |
| 58 | $39.64 | $56.72 | $31.70 | $43.61 |
| 59 | $40.10 | $55.60 | $31.00 | $44.50 |
| 60 | $41.84 | $56.72 | $31.70 | $43.61 |
| 61 | $43.76 | $59.64 | $32.87 | $45.19 |
| 62 | $46.41 | $63.28 | $34.51 | $47.48 |
| 63 | $49.07 | $67.72 | $36.06 | $49.78 |
| 64 | $51.22 | $69.53 | $37.72 | $52.07 |
| 65 | $53.58 | $72.72 | $39.36 | $54.36 |
| 66 | $56.48 | $76.06 | $41.01 | $56.66 |
| 67 | $59.85 | $80.53 | $43.44 | $60.22 |
| 68 | $63.18 | $84.67 | $45.86 | $63.60 |
| 69 | $66.84 | $89.65 | $48.29 | $66.09 |
| 70 | $70.79 | $94.64 | $50.81 | $70.45 |
| 71 | $73.15 | $98.31 | $53.24 | $72.18 |
| 72 | $78.81 | $103.97 | $56.20 | $75.86 |
| 73 | $83.99 | $109.94 | $58.46 | $79.74 |
| 74 | $89.46 | $116.69 | $63.55 | $84.14 |
| 75 | $94.87 | $123.65 | $67.78 | $88.66 |
| 76 | $99.97 | $132.48 | $72.41 | $94.42 |
| 77 | $107.04 | $141.32 | $78.25 | $101.63 |
| 78 | $114.13 | $150.57 | $83.51 | $108.24 |
| 79 | $122.13 | $161.81 | $88.44 | $115.15 |
| 80 | $129.52 | $171.23 | $93.41 | $125.01 |
| 81 | $139.73 | $181.75 | $98.43 | $135.14 |
| 82 | $149.95 | $192.98 | $106.21 | $147.04 |
| 83 | $160.16 | $204.65 | $113.96 | $160.56 |
| 84 | $171.02 | $219.19 | $121.31 | $170.76 |
| 85 | $181.88 | $237.28 | $128.55 | $179.58 |
| 86 | $192.74 | $257.57 | $135.90 | $192.35 |
| 87 | $236.25 | $337.32 | $171.33 | $237.32 |
| 88 | $276.68 | $353.99 | $205.98 | $253.99 |
| 89 | $317.10 | $370.65 | $240.63 | $278.99 |
| 91 | $387.32 | $387.32 | $337.32 | $337.32 |
| 90 | $357.53 | $378.98 | $275.28 | $303.99 |
Funeral insurance for seniors is affordable and depending on your state you will have a wealth of burial insurance companies for seniors to choose from. In most cases, the cheapest burial insurance for seniors is usually with Mutual of Omaha’s Living Promise product. That being said Mutual of Omaha also has strict underwriting so if you have some health issues you may do better with one of our other carriers for burial insurance for seniors.
Buying Burial Insurance for Someone Else
Yes you can buy burial insurance for someone else you just need to have their consent and insurable interest in them. You can buy burial insurance for parents or life insurance for grandparents but you do need to have them answer health questions and apply signatures to the applications.
The same goes for buying burial insurance for siblings or any other family member.
Affordable Burial Insurance for Seniors Which Company?
The 3 top companies we recommend for the cheapest burial insurance we recommend are American Amicable, Mutual of Omaha, TransAmerica, and Prosperity Life. These 3 companies are very competitive in their rates and offer the cheapest funeral insurance rates in the industry.
That being said we recommend American Amicable above all other companies because it is the most liberal with underwriting and is easy to get approved for. Rates are based on age so finding the cheapest final expense insurance is going to vary between those 3 companies.
According to silverbellhomstead.com a person at the age of 62 is considered a senior citizen. Below is am image of burial insurance pricing for a senior with a birthday of 2/2/1961, male, non-smoker.
Average Life Insurance Cost
As we talked about earlier the cost of insurance is based on age health and lifestyle. So if we were to ask about the average cost of life insurance. We would do an example.
For a male age 60 in perfect health and a non-smoker, the premium would be about $55 a month
Another male age 60 with Parkinson’s and a smoker could be $70 a month.
So the further you get in age and develop more health impairments the average cost of life insurance goes up. That is why it is important to get qualified at an early age and get a low rate locked in.
Once you are qualified for a true whole life insurance policy your rate will never increase.
Life Insurance with Pre-Existing Conditions
We have mentioned some example pre-existing conditions before but the good news is our carriers can offer day 1 coverage for a number of preexisting conditions! Here are some of the top carriers.
- Royal Neighbors of America
- Prosperity Life
- Liberty Bankers Life
- Aetna
- Greek Catholic Union
These are the life insurance companies we specialize in for preexisting conditions. This is how we find burial insurance for seniors on a daily basis.
Quick Tip: For life insurance quotes fill out the form to the right.
Life Insurance & Burial Insurance Which is Better?
The truth is life insurance is not better than burial insurance and burial insurance is not better than life insurance.
They are both used for different purposes, burial insurance covers cremation, burial, funeral and any other end of life costs. Life insurance covers family income, mortgage protection, estate liquidity, charitable giving, debt protection, asset & wealth transfer, supplemental retirement income, final expenses, buy/sell business continuance, loan indemnification, key person, SERP/Deferred Compensation, Split Dollar, Executive 162 Bonus and Restrictive Bonus.
As you can see if you are a retired senior with no debts or very little debts burial insurance is the best life insurance for you. Now if you are a senior or younger individual with a business and assets that need to be paid off your best option is traditional life insurance (guaranteed universal life insurance, term life insurance, Indexed Universal Life Insurance etc.)
You can learn more by reading our article on burial insurance vs life insurance.
Burial Costs
Burial costs typically vary from state to state but the typical average is between $8000 to $12000 and $3000 to $5000 for a cremation.
The costs also should factor in for burial the vaults, headstones, and mausoleums which add thousands of dollars on top of it.
As for cremations, you should factor in the urn and memorial prints to the cost. Cremation is still significantly cheaper than burial.
So with everything from the service, plot, casket/urn, headstones, and grave markers, and flowers. This brings the price between the averages above.
Life Insurance for Seniors over 75
If you are over 75 and looking for life insurance you have nothing to fear many carriers will issue coverage to seniors over 75 years of age.
We have covered burial insurance for seniors over 75 in extensive detail.
Your age will be a factor in your premium but not your approval. What factors into your approval is any pre-existing health conditions and in many cases, you can still be approved for life insurance for your final expenses.
Our carriers do not require a medical exam and the policy can easily take care of the cost of a funeral.
You would also still be able to have living benefits and you name your beneficiary whether it’s a funeral home or one of your children.
Even at your age all you would have to do is answer a few health questions and do an e-signature process and you can get instant day-one approval.
At that point, you would have peace of mind knowing that when your family gave your death certificate to the life insurance company they would get the death benefit and get everything taken care of.
Burial Insurance Quotes for Seniors
Quick Tip: If you are looking for burial insurance quotes fill out the form to your right you will speak with one of our agents and see pricing.
Quotes are determined by age, health and lifestyle. The type of life insurance plays a factor as well. If you were being quoted for term life insurance it would be drastically different than a burial insurance plan with a level death benefit.
We strongly recommend that you never purchase a term life policy for funeral expense. The reason being is because it terminates hence why it is called a term, to begin with. If you can qualify with a term carrier like foresters financial you will get a low monthly premium but your coverage is subject to expire.
Whole Life is better than Term
This is why we never recommend a term life insurance company to our clients for burial insurance. In addition to this the term insurance for seniors cost if you can qualify is high. It may be lower than whole life insurance but it will not be with you forever.
It is not ideal funeral insurance to cover the costs and if you have health issues it is hard to qualify. When it comes to funeral costs you are much better off with a company like Mutual of Omaha which is one of our top carriers.
A guaranteed issue policy is also more expensive because they do not look at any pre-existing conditions which make the policy more expensive for the amount of coverage because acceptance is guaranteed.
Whole life will always be the best and most affordable average costs coverage the insurers offer to pay the funeral home for your burial expenses.
The mode of payment we recommend to pay your premium would be a direct bank draft because you do not have to worry about your policy lapsing if you lose a credit card.
Cremation Insurance for Seniors
Cremation insurance and burial insurance are both the same thing. They are final expense insurance plans designed to pay the funeral home. This works for either a traditional burial or cremation service.
Term life insurance is not a good option for cremation because term terminates. When the monthly premium will become more expensive. Term does offer higher amounts of coverage but you have to be healthy and in most cases pass a medical exam.
This is why it is critical to work with an independent agent like us that specializes in burial and cremation insurance.
We do represent term carriers as well.
Our top Term life insurance carrier is:
Foresters Financial
Now when it comes to your family members peace of mind to cover the cost of your funeral our agents will help you get the following burial insurance carriers:
FAQ’s
Can you be denied burial insurance?
Yes, you can be denied final expense life insurance however if you get denied you can still get guaranteed issue life insurance.
Who Qualifies for Burial Insurance for Seniors?
Anyone between the ages for 45 – 90 can qualify for burial insurance for seniors. Your current health conditions and prescription medications play a factor but there are no medical exams required. This makes it easy to qualify for burial insurance for seniors.
What does a Burial Policy Cover?
A burial policy covers everything from the vault, headstone, and memorial service depending on the amount of life insurance you purchase. If you have a $20,000 burial policy your whole burial should be completely covered.
Is a burial policy the same as life insurance?
Yes, but it is a smaller final expense life insurance policy with face amounts ranging from $2,000 – $40,000 instead of products like term life insurance which can cover up to $100,000 and more but they expire whereas a burial policy never expires.
is there an age limit for funeral insurance plans?
Yes, when you are past age 85 this is the age limit for most funeral insurance plans. After this age, you will only have 1 – 2 companies that can accept you but you have to pass their underwriting. The legitimate age limit for funeral insurance plans is age 90.
do burial insurance companies charge hidden fees?
No, there are no hidden fees with burial insurance companies your premium when you buy your policy is fixed and will never go up on you as long as your policy stays in force.