Last Updated on November 22, 2018 by lifepolicyshopper
What if you could make certain that your loved ones had the money to pay for your funeral and other final expenses? Would that be important to you?
What if you could buy this important coverage even if you’re not very healthy and you are over 70; would that be important to you?
What if you could get this important final expense insurance coverage for a monthly premium that would easily fit in your budget? Well, you can!
What is Final Expense Life Insurance?
Regretfully, everyone is going to pass away sometime, and hopefully much later rather than soon. In today’s economy, it can be rather expensive to die. Funeral, burial, and cremation services are higher now than ever before and when we die, someone has to pay the bill.
The primary portion of final expenses are funeral and burial costs which today are running about $7,000 to $10,000 on average.
According to Parting.com, a national service that helps individuals with funeral planning, costs are rising and we need to prepare for them:
Today, the average North American traditional funeral costs between $7,000 and $10,000. This price range includes the services at the funeral home, burial in a cemetery, and the installation of a headstone. While cremation is gaining in popularity, the traditional funeral is still the most popular manner for disposing of the deceased.
Here is a reasonable "ballpark" estimate of the main funeral costs.
It's important to notes that funeral prices vary considerably between funeral homes and geographic areas of the country,
- fee for the funeral director's services: $1,500
- cost for a casket: $2,300
- embalming: $500
- cost for using the funeral home for the actual funeral service: $500
- cost of a grave site: $1,000
- cost to dig the grave: $600
- cost of a grave liner or outer burial container: $1,000
- cost of a headstone: $1,500
In this example, total costs would approximate $9,000....and that's just for the "main" items. There could be additional charges for things like placing the obituary in the newspaper and buying flowers. Read entire article…
I’m over 70 – How can I qualify for Final Expense Insurance?
This is probably in the top 10 questions that most people have. The good news is:
- You do not have to have a medical exam or blood test.
- Most Final Expense Insurance companies have very liberal underwriting.
- If you don’t qualify for a level benefit policy, we’ll get you covered with a guaranteed issue policy. More about that later.
The insurance companies that offer final expense insurance (we represent many of them) understand that seniors typically have at least one health condition and many of them have multiple health conditions. Knowing this, the insurance carriers that market to seniors know that their health underwriting must be quite a bit more liberal than if they were dealing with younger healthier applicants.
What is Level Benefit and Guaranteed Issue?
Although the majority of final expense policies are whole life insurance, many companies offer two types of policies; Level Benefit and Guaranteed Insurance (also known as Graded Benefit).
Level Benefit policies are medically underwritten (but no medical exam) and if qualified, the policyholder will have a level death benefit (full death benefit) on the first day the policy is issued. These policies come with the same great guarantees found in traditional whole life insurance.
- Provides life insurance coverage for a lifetime as long as premiums are paid. This means the insurer cannot cancel your policy for any reason other than non-payment.
- Premiums remain level for the life of the policy. Your insurance company cannot increase your premium even if you become terminally ill and have to live in a nursing home.
- You policy will build cash value. The cash value in your policy will grow year after year and you earn a minimum interest that is tax-deferred. You can access your cash value using policy loans, withdrawals, or by surrendering your policy to the insurance company.
If, because of multiple medical conditions, you do not qualify for the Level Benefit policy, we will offer a guaranteed issue policy to make sure you get the insurance coverage you need.
Guaranteed Issue policies are not medically underwritten, in fact, there are few if any health questions on the application. Virtually any senior who is alive and under age 86 can purchase a guaranteed issue final expense insurance policy. There are, however, a couple of things different about these types of policies:
- Most companies have a two-year waiting period before they will pay the full death benefit if you die because of natural causes. Instead, the insurer will pay the beneficiary an amount equal to all the premiums paid on the policy plus a specified amount of interest (typically 10%).
- The premiums for guaranteed issue final expense life insurance is typically higher than a level benefit policy since the insurance company is accepting an unknown medical risk.
What about LifeShield?
LifeShield National Insurance Company offers some of the best rates for final expense life insurance and we are proud to represent them. LifeShield has some of the best final expense insurance rates of the many highly-rated insurance companies that we represent. Their final expense life insurance plans are designed to offer seniors the most coverage at the most affordable rates.
Here are LifeShield’s actual insurance rates for a $10,000 final expense life insurance policy:
For accurate insurance rates for your actual age, use our world-class instant quote form on the right side of this page.
IMPORTANT!
If you fail to qualify for LifeShield’s Level Benefit Plan with first-day coverage, you may qualify for their Graded Plan at the very same rate. The Graded Plan has a 24-month waiting period for deaths caused by natural causes. If you pass away during the waiting period because of natural causes, your beneficiary will receive 110% of the premiums paid on your policy. If death is the result of an accident, the full benefit will be paid to your beneficiary.
You will qualify for the graded (guaranteed issue) plan under these conditions when all questions in Section A are answered "NO"
These questions in Section B can be answered "YES"
Past 24 months heart attack, stroke, transient ischemic attack, aneurysm, angina pectoris or any cardiovascular surgery.
Past 24 months chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, COPD, or any other lung disease.
Past 24 months liver disorder or kidney disease without dialysis.
Past 24 months treatment for a drug and alcohol use.
Past 24 months surgery for an aneurysm.
A pacemaker that was implanted more than 12 months prior to the date of application.
