How much final expense insurance should I buy?

Add the funeral you want, cemetery costs if burial, final medical bills, any debt you do not want to leave behind, and a cushion for the family's first few months. Subtract savings you have set aside. Many families land between $10,000 and $20,000. Our calculator does the math in a minute.

Is final expense insurance worth it if I have savings?

If you have $15,000 earmarked and your family can reach it immediately, you may not need it. Many people buy it so savings are not drained, because the payout is income-tax-free to the beneficiary, and because money in an estate can be tied up for months while a funeral bill is due in days.

One minute, one number

Plan My Amount

Add up what a death would cost the family, subtract what is already set aside, and you have the amount to buy. Nothing here is sent anywhere.

Illustrative photo.

The Pieces

Funeral type

Your own funeral estimate (if known)$0

Cemetery plot, opening, marker$3,000

Final medical bills$2,000

Debts you do not want to leave$1,000

Months of household bills as a cushion2 mo × $2,500

Minus: savings set aside and coverage you already have$2,000

Suggested amount

$18,000

Includes the $255 Social Security lump-sum death payment as an offset. Rounded up to the next $1,000. Illustrative planning math, not advice.

Quote This Amount

Where The Money Goes

The pieces at your current inputs.

If The Number Is Over $25,000

Guaranteed acceptance carriers cap at $25,000 (Great Western $40,000). Final expense with health questions goes to $50,000 at some carriers, and two policies at two carriers can be combined. An agent sorts this in one call.

If The Number Is Under $5,000

Some carriers start at $2,000 (Mutual of Omaha) or $1,000 (Great Western). Small policies have a higher price per $1,000; compare against simply earmarking savings.

However you like to do things

Three Ways To Get Covered

Talk To A Person

A licensed agent, ten minutes, no pressure. We check whether you can get a policy with a few health questions and no waiting period before offering one with a waiting period. Business hours, Eastern time.

Call 561-816-3446

Ask For Options By Text Or Email

Tell us your age, state and the amount you have in mind. A licensed agent sends the options — including the price difference between answering a few health questions and answering none.

Ask For My Options

Apply On My Own, Online

Open our carrier tool, answer a few screens, get a decision. The waiting period, if any, is shown before you sign.

You will leave this site for a carrier tool. Rates shown there are estimates until the carrier confirms. Agent of record: Phamella Bauer (NPN 22053821), NovaVida Group.

Final Expense Whole Life · Fidelity LifeA few health questions · no exam · full benefit from day one if approved · usually the better price. Start here.

Apply — Final Expense

Guaranteed Acceptance Whole Life · Fidelity LifeAges 50–85 · up to $25,000 · no health questions · three-year graded benefit for natural death; accidents pay in full · not NY/WY

Apply — Guaranteed Acceptance

Mutual of Omaha, Gerber Life, Corebridge and the other carriers we represent are quoted by an agent — call 561-816-3446.