Best Final Expense Insurance in October 2023

As funeral costs continue to rise, often surpassing $10,000, final expense insurance can be a valuable financial safeguard. This specialized insurance helps ensure that your family won't shoulder the financial responsibilities of your funeral or cremation.

MoneyGeek compared offers from multiple life insurance companies to help you find the best deal based on your specific needs and preferences. State Farm received the highest overall MoneyGeek score of 99. Meanwhile, Nationwide leads the pack in the buying process category and ranks second overall, and Progressive scores the highest in customer satisfaction.

State Farm is the best choice for final expense life insurance, receiving an overall MoneyGeek score of 99. The company excels in financial stability and product diversity, key factors when considering a long-term commitment like life insurance. State Farm's offerings are designed to ease the financial burden of end-of-life expenses, making it a reliable option for those looking to secure their family's future.

With a MoneyGeek score of 99, Nationwide offers an optimal buying process for final expense insurance, earning the highest rating in this category. This distinction underscores the company's commitment to a seamless customer experience, making it the top choice for those prioritizing ease of purchase.

Nationwide's overall score tied with State Farm, but it landed the runner-up spot due to State Farm's superior financial stability rating.

Progressive, with a MoneyGeek score of 96, stands out as the top choice for customer satisfaction among insurers offering final expense life insurance. It's worth noting that Progressive's policies are issued through partner companies.

Final expense insurance is a type of whole life insurance, meaning it won't expire after a specific amount of time. It usually provides coverage until you pass, though some companies have a maturation age, which only offers coverage to a certain age, usually 100. Final expense insurance is sometimes referred to as funeral insurance, burial insurance or modified issue whole life insurance, but all these terms refer to the same product.

Final expense insurance is no different from other whole life insurance policies. However, it usually has a smaller death benefit, making it more affordable. If you have this coverage, your beneficiary can use the payout as they see fit. However, it's primarily used to cover expenses from a memorial service, embalming, purchasing a casket or having a body cremated.

With a death benefit usually ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, burial and final expense insurance is popular among seniors to make sure their families are taken care of after their death.

Navigating the financial implications of end-of-life expenses can be a significant concern, especially if you're retired and lack coverage from a personal or employer-sponsored life insurance policy. Final expense insurance offers a solution to this challenge.

Key Steps to Acquire Coverage

• Application: Most policies require you to answer a few health-related questions, although some offer guaranteed acceptance without any health queries.
• Premium Payment: Once approved, you have the option to pay premiums either weekly or monthly.

Utilizing the Death Benefit

• End-of-Life Expenses: The death benefit primarily aims to cover costs like final medical bills, burial or cremation.
• Additional Uses: Beneficiaries have the flexibility to use the death benefit for other needs, such as purchasing caskets or urns.

This policy type provides a financial cushion, allowing your beneficiaries to manage these costs more effectively. While the primary purpose of the death benefit is to cover end-of-life expenses, it offers the flexibility to be used for other financial needs as well. This adaptability makes final expense insurance a versatile financial tool in preparing for the inevitable.

The process for claiming death benefits from final expense life insurance is similar to other life insurance policies. Your beneficiaries will need to present your death certificate and a completed claim form. They also need to have your policy information.

In most cases, the insurer releases the payout within 30 days of filing. Your beneficiaries receive the amount as a tax-free lump sum.

The cost of final expense insurance depends on several factors. Typically, the older you are when you purchase your policy and the higher your coverage level is, the more expensive your premium becomes.

Life insurance companies also have varying requirements. Some will ask you to complete a health questionnaire, while others guarantee acceptance. Policies with guaranteed acceptance pose a lower risk for you, but they typically cost more than those that require you to answer health-related questions.

Similar to other types of life insurance, final expense plans can have varying face-value amounts. A coverage amount of at least $10,000 is ideal, but you can increase your coverage to $20,000 or even higher. Remember that the higher your limit is, the more expensive your premium becomes.

Final expense insurance is best suited for those of a certain age — typically, buyers who are 60 and older and have little to no income benefit most from this coverage. It may also work for those who have severe health conditions because it is more affordable than term life or permanent life plans.

Depending on your preference, you can purchase simplified issue life insurance, which requires you to answer several health-related questions. If you think your health condition is a cause for concern, guaranteed issue life insurance may be a better alternative.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the national median cost of a funeral is $7,848. This only covers the barest of services, including viewing and burial. A funeral with cremation is less expensive at $6,971.

If you add on the cost of internment in a cemetery, monument or marker prices and flowers, final expenses can exceed $10,000.

Insurers often offer two types of final expense plans: simplified issue and guaranteed issue. Neither will require you to go through a health exam (most insurers won’t ask this of you for final expense insurance), but simplified issue life insurance will require you to answer several health-related questions.

Guaranteed issue life insurance, as the name implies, ensures automatic acceptance. It cuts out a step in the process but also costs more and may require a waiting period before the full death benefit is available.

A guaranteed acceptance (or guaranteed issue) policy doesn’t require a health exam or answers to health questions, so these policies are generally more expensive. However, these plans typically come with a waiting period, which means your full death benefit won’t be available for at least two years unless you suffer an accidental death.

A final expense with no waiting period policy means your beneficiaries get your entire death benefit from day one of coverage, even if you’ve only made a single payment of your premium, which makes this kind of policy very popular for final expense plans.

We all want to save our loved ones from additional stress when the worst happens. When you die, the last thing you want is for your family to be under financial distress from end-of-life expenses. That's what makes having final expense insurance a good choice.

That said, final expense plans are best suited to specific situations. Here are some factors you may want to consider when deciding whether it's the right kind of life insurance for you:

To help you better understand the nuances of final expense insurance, here are some of the most commonly asked questions about it.