Top 20 Best Final Expense and Burial Insurance Companies

At JustBuryMe, we work with many of the top final expense and burial insurance companies. The following article breaks down the top companies we work with, as well as our personal favorite final expense burial insurance policies.

Our Top 20 final expense insurance and burial insurance companies for 2023

We have also written life insurance company reviews for the following carriers offering final expense and burial insurance:

• MetLife
• Globe Life
• Colonial Penn
• AARP
• MassMutual
• State Farm
• Royal Neighbors
• Senior Life Insurance

All the final expense and burial insurance companies listed above are excellent when it comes to certain situations. That is one of the biggest advantages to consumers choosing an agency such as JustBuryMe which represents multiple insurance carriers: you have a ton of choices! And choices typically equal big savings.

We put together a list of our current “go to” final expense and burial insurance companies. Our list frequently changes and is based on which companies currently offer our clients the best final expense insurance in the marketplace.

The companies below are segmented into simplified issue and guaranteed issue life insurance. There are various pros and cons to each and one policy may be more appropriate than the other for you. Before we rattle off our current favorite, a brief intro into the different types of coverage.

The Big Three

Final expense insurance, also known as burial insurance or funeral insurance, is typically a small cash value whole life insurance policy with a face amount from as low as $1,000, all the way up to $100,000. Once you get in the $25,000 and up range the coverage is no longer coined “final expense” and you move into a category called “simplified issue” or “fully underwritten.”

Top 10 Best Final Expense and Burial Insurance Companies

(In no particular order)

1. Phoenix
2. Aetna
3. Liberty Bankers
4. Assurity
5. Gerber
6. Mutual of Omaha
7. Foresters
8. Transamerica
9. Fidelity Life
10. Sagicor

Benefits and features of each policy vary by state.

The following 7 companies that are spotlighted here are our current leaders as they represent the current crop of carriers we write the most final expense and burial insurance policies with.

Phoenix Life Insurance Company

Phoenix Remembrance Life: whole life insurance policy available for ages 30-80 for face amounts ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on your age. In qualifying states, the policy includes living benefit riders (riders end at age 75) available at no additional premium covering terminal illness and critical illness. Additional riders that can be added include:

• Accidental Death Benefit Rider
• Lifetime Income Rider
• Income Term Rider
• Legacy Rider
• Education Benefit Rider
• Not all riders are available in all states

Aetna Life Insurance

Final expense insurance offered in three different flavors: Level, Modified, and Guaranteed.

Level benefit: Full death benefit available immediately. Available for ages 40-89, with face amounts ranging from $3,000 to $35,000, depending on age.

Modified benefit: Full death benefit paid out after two full years. If death occurs in the two year modified period, payout equals premiums paid plus 10%. Available for ages 45-75, with face amounts ranging from $3,000 to $35,000, depending on age.

Graded benefit: death benefit payout equals 40% in year one, 75% in year two, and 100% in year three and onward. Available for ages 45-80, with face amounts ranging from $3,000 to $35,000, depending on age.

Liberty Bankers Life

Simplified Issue Whole Life: Cash value whole life insurance with premiums based on different rates classes that takes into account your physical condition and activities. Coverage ranges from $1,000-$25,000 or $15,000 for ages 66-80.

Modified Whole Life: Available for ages 40-80, this whole life insurance policy is used primarily for final expense or burial insurance geared towards those with a pre-existing high risk health condition. The policy’s death benefit is modified so that in years 1-3, the policy pay out equals all premiums paid plus 10%. In year four, the death benefit payout moves to 100%. And in the policy’s fifth year, the death benefit increases to 105%. Finally, in year six the death benefit payout climbs to 110%.

Assurity Life Insurance

Assurity offers three great final expense life insurance policies. The policies range from those who have little health problems, moderate health problems and serious health problems.

Level Death Benefit

• Issue Age: six months old-80 years old
• Maximum Death Benefit: $50,000

Graded Death Benefit

• Issue Age: 40-80 years old
• Maximum Death Benefit: $35,000
• Accidental deaths: full cash benefit received by beneficiaries (up to $35,000)
• Deaths by natural cause:
  • Year one: 40% of death benefit awarded
  • Year two: 75% of the death benefit awarded
  • Year three +: 100% of the death benefit awarded

Modified Death Benefit

• Issue Age: 40-80 years of age
• Maximum Death Benefit: $25,000
• Accidental deaths: full cash benefit received by beneficiaries (up to $25,000)
• Deaths by natural causes:
  • Year one: 110% of premium paid
  • Year two 220% of premium paid
  • Year three+: total death benefit amount

Gerber Life Insurance

Gerber offers various life insurance products for children and adults. Our focus is on the company’s guaranteed issue life insurance.

Gerber Guaranteed Issue Life Insurance: whole life insurance policy that builds cash value. Premiums are fixed for the life of the policy. Available for ages 50-80. The policy is guaranteed issue, which means you do not have to take a paramedical exam or answer health questions to qualify. Face amounts are available in increments ranging from $5,000 up to $25,000.

Gerber’s guaranteed issue policy comes with a 2 year graded death benefit limitation. Since the policy is offered with no proof of insurability, Gerber includes the limitation which requires that the insured live for two full years past the policy inception date in order to qualify for the full death benefit amount. If the insured dies before the two year period ends, the policy pays out all premiums paid, plus 10% interest.

Mutual of Omaha

Living Promise: Available for ages 45-85, with face amounts ranging from $2,000 to $40,000 depending on the state you are in ($25,000 minimum in WA). Premiums are fixed for the life of the policy. No medical exam is required, just a few health questions. Included in the policy at no additional cost are an Accelerated Death Benefit for Terminal Illness or Nursing Home Confinement Rider.

The Living Promise Graded Benefit policy comes with a two year graded death benefit which provides that if the insured dies in the first two years, the death benefit payout will equal all premiums paid plus 10%. After 2 years the full death benefit payout is available.

Foresters

Plan Right Whole Life Insurance

One of our favorite burial whole life insurance policies for seniors is Foresters Plan Right Whole Life. This is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a top final expense or burial insurance policy. There are three options to choose from: Fixed, graded and modified.

Fixed Death Benefit: Here the death benefit kicks in immediately, i.e. no waiting period. If you die the day the policy goes in force then your beneficiary would receive 100% full death benefit payout. This is typical of fully underwritten life insurance.

Graded Death Benefit: The first two years of the policy contains a graded death benefit where the death benefit paid out will be a percentage of the death benefit or premiums paid.  In the first year you will receive the greater of either the total amount of premiums paid into the policy and 4.5% interest or 30% of the death benefit. In the second year you will get 70% of the death benefit. The full death benefit will be paid after year completion of the second year. This is typical of some easier to get simplified issue life insurance policies.

Modified Death Benefit: This is a true graded death benefit where the policy pays out only the premiums plus 10% for two years. This covers the company’s backside in case an insured is very unhealthy and dies in the first two years. After two years the policy pays out the full 100% of the face amount. Graded death benefits are common with guaranteed issue life insurance.

Transamerica

Easy Solution Whole Life – Graded Death Benefit

Final expense whole life insurance available for ages 18 – 80 for face amounts starting at $1,000 up to $25,000. The policy includes a level death benefit and fixed premiums. It also includes a graded benefit for the first two years, after which time the full death benefit will be paid. This is a great policy if you’re looking to cover debts, funeral costs, medical bills, taxes, and similar expenses.

Fidelity

Final Expense

If you are aged between 50 and 85, Fidelity Life’s first product is a final expense burial insurance policy which allows your loved ones to receive some money after you die. With this, they can pay for medical bills, funeral costs, and any other debts you may have. With coverage from $5,000 to $35,000, you can choose the amount that is appropriate for your circumstances.

Although there is no medical examination required for this permanent insurance, you will need to answer a few health questions so Fidelity Life can gain some information about your health condition. For the most part, this isn’t the option for you if you are suffering with serious medical conditions or have been given a life expectancy of one or two years. This being said, they do cover those with less severe health issues.

Guaranteed Issue

Next up, we have a policy that, as you can tell from the name, is more suited to those with bigger health problems. Again, guaranteed issue life insurance covers you if you are between 50 and 85 years of age and you could get coverage of up to $20,000. This time, there is no medical examination but there are also no questions which means that there is no underwriting and you are guaranteed approval.

Essentially, this is a whole life insurance policy that has a cash value component on the side. Of course, there is always some bad news attached to a guaranteed issue policy and with Fidelity Life this comes with a three-year graded death benefit. If you were to die in these first three years, your beneficiary would only receive a certain percentage rather than the whole death benefit. From the fourth year forward, the entire death benefit will be active. For the duration of the policy, the coverage amount and premiums will remain the same.

Sagicor

Offering both simplified issue term and permanent life insurance. Available for ages 18 – 65 for face amounts starting at $25,000 to $500,000 for simplified issue term life, $25,000 – $500,000 simplified issue universal life and $25,000 to $250,000 simplified issue whole life insurance.

Take the Next Steps

You may be asking,

“Where do we go from here?”

The number one benefit to shopping for final expense or burial insurance quotes online is that you discover there are many options available. The key to finding the best online rates for final expense or burial is to choose an agency that can impartially shop for you, an agency like JustBuryMe.

About JustBuryMe

JustBuryMe was created with the primary focus on finding the best final expense and burial insurance policies in the United States. We then pass on our knowledge and expertise to you, our loyal customers who trust us with the important task of providing the best companies with service second to none.

So what are you waiting for? Give us a call today for a free consultation.

Thank you for reading our article, The Best Final Expense and Burial Insurance Companies. Please leave any questions or comments below.